Hogwarts, Hormones and Everything Else
by Circe
Summary: The sequel to Paris, which will gradually lead to darker times.
1. Default Chapter

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A/N: Here is Chapter One of the sequel to Paris. I wish I could promise you some really dark things, but I'll have to"work into " that. Thus, the rather all emcompassing title. Some of you may recognize a similarity to one of my fave author's, Douglas Adams, __Life, The Universe and Everything Else, part ofthe Hitch hiker" trilogy". So meanwhile, we'll just have a little more fun, OK? I'll bring on the dark stuff like that thing in Magical Beasts and Where to Find Them, the one that creeps up over you like a blanket, then EATS you.Well, maybe.Anyway, this was fun to write and I hope it will give you some smiles. Special thanks to 007,as always, for his help Beta-ing, and with the title. Angel,( the evil) for help on the title finalization.

P.S. Any feedback on this font would be greatly appeciated. It doesn't look like me, yet, but I just found it.

  
  
Chapter One - Settling In For a Bit  
  
Harry was amazed at how quiet things seemed when they arrived back at the Granger's house. He had gotten used to the commotion at the hotel, with employees going about their jobs, and guests constantly moving around. The trip back on the Eurostar had been much more crowded as well. It seemed everyone had decided to come back from their holiday at the same time.  
  
He and Hermione had tried going back to visit Crookshanks and Hedwig, but once they had gotten there, the car was so full of animals and baggage, that there was no room to move. They had looked at each other sadly, remembering the nice time they'd enjoyed on the way, and how the conductor tried to frighten them.   
  
All they could do was take refuge back in their seats and see how much food, and how many types of soda they could eat and drink. It wasn't long before Hermione was looking a bit green, and she turned around to ask her Mom if she could help.  
  
"Ah, I thought you two were indulging a bit too much. Just because you're allowed to eat anything you like on here, doesn't mean you have to try it ALL, Hermione. Hold on a sec." Harry watched, holding Hermione's hand, and hoping she wasn't going to be sick all over both of them, as Ivy carefully put her wand over the seat between himself and Hermione, and muttered " Digestivus Settlinus." To his, and, he could tell, Hermione's relief, her face had returned to a normal color and she had slowly sipped a ginger ale the rest of the way to London, resting her head on his shoulder.  
  
But now they were back, and Chris and Ivy were turning on lights, and opening windows, then settling on the couch with the mail they hadn't had forwarded to Paris. Hermione was looking at the huge pile of luggage and shaking her head. Chris looked up and smiled wickedly at her, "Don't forget, dear daughter, most of your Paris purchases aren't here yet, we had them shipped. Like it or not, you'd better work on putting away what's already here." He shook his head and looked at Harry. "Every time we go away, I tell her the same thing, but does she remember?"  
  
Harry laughed, thinking that Hermione was a bit spoiled by her parents, but he couldn't imagine her any other way. Besides, once they were at Hogwarts, and back in their robes, Hermione would be back to living in the library, so he thought she should enjoy her fun to the fullest.

  
They still had a trip to visit the Weasleys at the Burrow to look forward to, and there was a possibility Percy and Penelope would have their wedding within a week or two. The details hadn't been decided, but he knew Fred and George were already busily at work, stocking up on some joke items they thought would be suitable for their brother's big day. He'd heard Ginny, alternately begging them and scolding them not to be so hard on Percy, and to remember it was Penny's big day as well.

Fred had snorted derisively, and replied, "She knows what she's getting into, Ginny. Percy's head is bigger than ever, and Penny's going to have to learn to be part of this family somehow. Might as well let her see how it's going to be from the first, no shocks later on."  
  
"Right," added George. "If they have kids, they'll be spending lots of time with Uncle George and Uncle Fred, we'd best break Penny in now."  
  
Harry imagined it would be a snowy day in July before Percy would let THOSE uncles take any child of his for very long, but he'd kept his mouth shut. It would be fun to be an observer.  
  
He sobered a bit as he remembered some of the events of the last school year. He'd come very close to not being around to even enjoy this summer, now he was thinking ahead to when Penelope and Percy were parents. As little as he wanted to, he wondered how things were between Dumbledore and Cornelius Fudge. He had attempted to ask the headmaster, when they were together on his birthday, but Dumbledore had changed the subject, and instead, told Harry some stories about the days when he and Nicolas Flamel had been partners. Professor Dumbledore had looked so happy as he reminisced, Harry didn't have the heart to bring up anything that might have changed the mood to a gloomy one.  
  
For now, though, he came back to the present to hear Hermione saying, "Harry, you've got quite a pile of things here too. And some of your birthday gifts had to be shipped. You're going to leave things here, aren't you? Even with that Charm Mom put on him, I wouldn't trust Dudley with some of these things."   
  
Harry agreed with her. He was still feeling embarrassed whenever he thought of the mountain of gifts he had received for his birthday. He'd never expected such a celebration, then the Quidditch game to end the evening, and coming back in after the guests had left to find all of those strangely wrapped packages. Ivy and Hermione had obviously given out some ideas for things he might like, and he could imagine what a stir it had made when some of the guests, who were accustomed to shopping only in Diagon Alley, had appeared in some of the muggle stores to purchase jeans, shirts, CD's, a CD player and some of the coolest shoes he'd ever imagined. There was also a new set of gobstones and a few magical creatures, ( he'd sent those along with Hagrid, who'd stayed on after the other guests).  
  
Hagrid seemed to not want to let Ivy out of his sight and Harry could tell he had probably had a soft spot for her when she'd been at Hogwarts. They had talked for a few moments, privately, before he left, and Hagrid had told Harry and Hermione how happy he was, not only to see Ivy once again in the magical world, but to see how much stronger she looked than when he'd last seen her, not long after the murders of Harry's parents.  
  
"A pitiful sight, yer mum was, Hermione. For so many years, she an' Lily had shared almost every thought, had always planned to raise their families together. Both Lily and Ivy wanted a house full o' kids, and they'd have had as many as the Weasleys, if You Know Who hadn't stepped in. Ivy never feared anythin' up until Lily and James went, but after that, her heart was fair to bein' broken. But she had you, Hermione and yer dad. Chris was there for her, an' muggle or no, he's been a fine and faithful husband. Kept all o' you safe in the muggle world, yet didn't protest overmuch when you came to Hogwarts. Ah, Hermione, how proud they were o' you both. Me and yer folks have been keepin' a correspondence o' sorts, and they were so pleased when you two were best friends. Although, unless I'm becomin' a bit blind in me old age, "friends" might not be sufficient for the two o' yeh these days?"  
  
"Friends is what we have always been and will always be, Hagrid. We just kind of found we have a bit more in common than we once thought,"   
Hermione told him, then looked at Harry, as if to say "Do something, say something!"

He gulped and added, "We, er, sort of found we liked spending time alone, as well as with Ron, and um, Hermione looks really pretty these days, doesn't she Hagrid?"  
  
He knew he'd gone all the shades of red, and was extremely tempted to disappear out the French doors, but Hagrid had just laughed, and begun packing up the creatures he was taking back with him. Hermione, on the other hand, had smiled and kissed him on both cheeks, before leaving them alone. He remembered Hagrid had chuckled and said, "Yeh act jus' like yer dad did when he realized Lily was more than someone tuh play tricks on. Interestin' tuh see, I gotta tell yeh."

  
~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~

  
When Harry woke up the next morning, the first thing he saw was the gift that had "magically" appeared last night, not long before they were ready to go to sleep. He jumped up and ran to the desk across the room, kneeling by the clear glass dome that enclosed a miniature Quidditch stadium. He'd already found that he could make the players move quite well, and he thought how useful this could have been, back when Oliver Wood had tried to explain tricky new plays with squiggly lines. He and Ivy had played the first game, and he could see why Dumbledore had asked her to help coach Quiddditch this year. Her reflexes were very quick, and she seemed to be able to see all the players at the same time. Next, he and Ivy had "coached" Chris and Hermione as they made the tiny players move, and it had been just as exciting.  
  
Trust Sirius to come up with something like this! Then he noticed something he hadn't the night before. There had been a card attached to the dome, that read "Better late than not at all. Happy Birthday from Snuffles!" Now Harry noticed there was something that he hoped was a letter from Sirius, a folded piece of blue-violet paper. Unfolding it he read:  
  
Dear Harry:  
I am with Remus, and he tells me your birthday celebration was a great one. I sure hate that I missed all the food and dancing, and that Quidditch game. It must have been a treat to see Albus. Remus tells me he can still take care of a bludger with ease even though he has some years on him. Also I was told Hermione might be becoming interested in flying, after resisting it all these years. That wouldn't have anything to do with you, I suppose?  
Ivy tells me you'll all be visiting the Weasleys very soon. As their home is quite a distance from anyone, wizard, or muggle, I may decide to visit while you're there. Arthur and I will be in touch, he will know whether it's a good time to chance it.  
Have a great rest of the summer, Harry. We'll discuss some plans for the future when I see you. Hopefully by Christmas we'll be discussing how you'd like your new room at my house refurbished. What luck, you and Hermione finding Monsieur Maas and that pendant! Wear it constantly, Harry, I feel much better knowing you have it. See you soon!  
  
"Snuffles"  
  
"Well, this added a whole new dimension to the rest of the summer" Harry thought. He knew he was way too excited to go back to sleep, and without thinking, he headed out the door and went down and opened Hermione's door, saying much more loudly than was probably wise, "Hermione ! Wake up! I've found a letter from Sirius !"  
  
Hermione did wake up and with a start! She sat up in bed with a yelp, and then when her eyes focused, answered with a sleepy, "That's great Harry, but d' you have to scare a person to death. And, oh, what a dream I was having!"  
  
"About what?" he asked, curious about what dream could be better than hearing from Sirius.  
  
Hermione's face went slightly pink and she mumbled "Never mind." Then in a more normal, Hermione-like voice she continued, "So what does he say?" sitting up in bed and pushing her quilt and sheets back.  
  
"He's, um, he's maybe coming to the Weasleys to see us. And he mentions making some plans for the future, like my room at his house. And Hermione, I think I'll see you at breakfast. I wasn't expecting your pajamas to be so, well, see you in a bit." Harry backed out, closing the door behind him.  
  
'Whoa,' he thought. When he'd said Hermione was looking really pretty these days, he'd had no idea she could look like that! Now that he'd left, he wished he'd stayed, but he just hadn't expected to see all that skin! 'All right, Potter!' he told himself. "You'll be swimming with her at the Weasleys, it's no different!' But he knew it was, not just seeing her in those little pajamas, but seeing how cute she looked, still almost asleep. And, could she have been dreaming about HIM? Why else would she have gone all pink and mumbling?  
  
He'd better go back and reread Sirius' letter and see if he could find a way to pay against himself in a Quidditch game. That ought to get the picture of Hermione in short pajamas with tiny straps and long, long legs out of his mind. He hoped!

  
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When Harry came into the kitchen a bit later, he was relieved to find Ivy and Chris there, as well as Hermione. He hadn't been sure he might not have embarrassed her, but typically Hermione, the thing on her mind was now the letter from Sirius, plans for going to the Weasleys and what would happen with Penelope and Percy.  
  
"Harry, if you know Fred and George are planning anything evil, you'd better let someone know," she told him. 'It just wouldn't be fair to do something like turning Percy into a monkey like one of the Malfoys, right before the wedding."  
  
"Oh, I will," Harry replied, thinking simultaneously,'I'll tell Ron!' and what a funny sight it would be, Percy in his wedding tuxedo, acting like a monkey. He really wished Hermione hadn't said that, now it was going to be very difficult not to ask Fred and George whether they planned to have a special treat of banana "monkey tarts" for their big headed brother. Fortunately, Ivy said something at that moment that took the Weasleys straight from his mind.  
  
"Harry, I know you will probably not love me for saying this, but I suppose you'd better spend a couple of nights with the Dursleys."

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Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me, except the Quidditch game, Ivy's tummy ache charm and the blue violet paper Sirius wrote to Harry on. Thanks to JK Rowling, we have Harry and the gang to play with.   
So, hooray for her! I hope she's having fun writing too, and those WB peeps are leaving her some space to think, and breathe.

Happy, happy spring, everyone, and love from Circe! 


	2. Shifts in Circumstances

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A/N: Okay, I know some of you don't like the idea of Harry's return to the Dursley's but it'll work out to everyone's advantage, trust me. A funny thing I discovered though. When using my spell check, it always wanted to change Vernon to Vermin, and Dudley to Deadly. Kinda weird , huh, but fairly appropriate? Well, enjoy! This has more of a feel like Summer, at least to me, but I can't wait to get to the Burrow! I'm really sad that "my font" doesn't show anymore.

  
Chapter Two - Shifts in Circumstances  
  
  
Harry couldn't believe he'd heard Ivy correctly, but when Hermione wailed "Oh. Mom, no!" he knew he had.  
  
"We've just gotten back! Can't he at least wait until tomorrow?" she pleaded. "Isn't there an awful lot to do today, cleaning up, putting things away? It's just too much for me to do alone!"  
  
Harry had to laugh at this. When had anything been too much for Hermione, as far as work went? But he wondered why Ivy was sending him back to the Dursleys'. Had she or Chris seen him going into her room or, even worse, coming out? He knew his face had been all hot and red then, and he wouldn't have noticed hearing any doors open or close. At least they couldn't know how he'd felt.  
  
Ivy 's next words, though they didn't make him happy, did at least make there seem a glimmer of hope. "Don't whine, Hermione," she said, only half jokingly. "We've just gotten back, there's virtually nothing to clean up or put away, except your own clothes and things. As you've taken care of those since you were six, I see no need for Harry to stay and help you put clothes on hangers"  
  
"Harry will only be with his family for a short time," she continued. "We'll be leaving for the Burrow within a few days, and the time to leave for Hogwarts is getting short. Chris and I will need to be there for at least a week before term begins, so you and Harry will need to stay with the Weasleys. Unless you'd rather visit the Dursleys, Hermione?"  
  
'Well, this all made perfect sense,' Harry thought. He did need to pack the things he'd left there, though there wasn't a lot. And he knew Hermione's parents would be busy getting ready for such a change in their lives. He had just hoped he'd be allowed to help, but he guessed this was a family thing and they didn't.....  
  
"Ivy has another part of her summer plan that needs to be completed, Harry," Chris told him, apparently noticing Harry's face had fallen to the floor, practically.(At least it felt that way to him.) We need to make sure the entire family has experienced the Amiability Charm, and you know, there is one member we haven't completely addressed."  
  
Aunt Marge?" Harry asked. "I really hadn't given her much thought since we left her in Paris. Wonder how THAT trip went?"  
  
"Not the way she expected, but Chris is right, things need to be completed and we must be sure the Charm is still strong and working effectively with the others. I've been out of the magical world for some time and they may be due for reinforcing. I hope it will not happen, but if there's any chance you'll need to go back there, and quickly, I have to be sure they'd not only take you in, but not react badly while you're there. We don't need to have a repeat of anything similar to the "First Year Letter" fiasco!"  
  
Harry saw Hermione turn a bit pale and look very worried. He felt that way too but he also knew Ivy was right to be thinking realistically. He remembered how angry he'd been when Cornelius Fudge had refused to believe anything other than a terrible accident had taken place at the Triwizard Tournament.  
  
They really had no idea what they would be facing this year, and even if being at Hogwarts, with Dumbledore there was safer than anyplace else, anything could change. Unwillingly, he remembered the tired look on the Headmaster's face after the tournament and felt a shiver go down his spine. 'Well, still,' he thought.' Professor Dumbledore looked young enough when he was handling that bludger, in Paris.'  
  
"So when's she coming?" he asked. "And will old Ripper be coming along as well? Crookshanks will adore that. Right, Hermione?" Harry smiled at Hermione as he tried to cheer her up, and she seemed to realize he was attempting to put his gloomy thoughts and feelings aside, out of necessity. She smiled back at him, not much of a smile, it was true, but at least she was trying.  
  
"Not only Ripper, but Marge's friend, Colonel Fubster," answered Ivy." If all goes well, you can go back to the Dursleys' with them. If I have any doubts that it has gone well, you'll stay here with us. I won't throw Harry to the "manticores", unless I know they've been made harmless."  
  
"Okay, Mom," Hermione replied, looking embarrassed to have been so transparent about not wanting Harry anyplace unpleasant, but also distinctly relieved. "I guess I can't ask for more than that."  
  
Harry couldn't think why Ivy would look so pleased about all this, aside from a group that contained Voldemort and Malfoy, the trio she'd just named sounded worse than any he could think of! "We'll use the same Charm on Marge that I used on Dudley and Vernon. Hermione, you, Harry and Crookshanks will have the fun of working with Ripper. I have a potion all ready for him."  
  
"What about Colonel Fubster," asked Harry. He'd never met the man, but any friend of Aunt Marge.....  
  
Ivy laughed and Harry could, for a moment, see why muggles thought witches could be bad news. That laugh was something he wouldn't want to hear if it had anything to do with him.  
  
"Colonel Fubster is an old Army career man," she told them. "And Petunia has not been tending Dudley's diet and exercise as she ought to. For the boy's sake, I thought it would be wise for Colonel Fubster to use his army skills, and my exercise and diet plan to get Dudley in better shape. I have some persuasion all planned for him."  
  
Harry and Hermione looked at each other and began to laugh, until tears were ready to pour and Harry was holding his aching sides. Seeing this would be worth being on Privet Drive for a few days, he thought.  
  
"I.... I think I should come over for another dinner," Hermione gasped, when she could speak. "Maybe we all should!"  
  
"That's a possibility," Chris replied, his eyes twinkling too. "Before we leave for the Weasleys' home, it would be good to see how they're all functioning together-and how strong your mother's potions and Charms are!"  
  
Harry had to admit, he was a bit surprised the Ministry was allowing this, since ordinarily very little magic was practiced with muggles involved. He remembered Ron's dad telling him about penalties for muggle baiting and the way some wizards enjoyed shrinking keys and things, so muggles couldn't find them. Ivy must have some strong powers and some strong influence for this to be allowed.  
  
The rest of the morning passed pleasantly, but uneventfully. He and Hermione played with his birthday gift from Sirius, Ivy talked to them about their part in the plan (he was going to enjoy this, Harry thought, remembering the times Ripper had chased him up a tree, or tried to attack him) and did some food shopping for Ivy. Before they left, Chris had told them to be sure to get some extra food that Harry could take to his Aunt and Uncle's house, since the food there would be very sparse. He almost wished Chris hadn't said that, because Hermione had insisted on getting a whole basket of various snacks and tinned foods for him to take along. When he protested that it was a lot for a few days, she'd said, "That's, OK, you can bring what's left to the Weasleys, and we'll finish it up there." He had to admit, that was a good idea, Fred and George were probably missing their trips to the Hogwarts kitchen by now.  
  
Back at the Grangers', Hermione had coaxed him up to the attic, saying she needed help bringing her school trunk down, After they'd climbed the steep steps though, he found his best friend had other ideas and they passed a pleasant time, making sure they still enjoyed, as Hermione had told Hagrid "having other things in common." He had told her how good she felt in the silver dress and she had slipped behind a screen and reappeared in a blue dress that had the same feel. They were curled together in their favorite windowseat spot, and Harry was just enjoying holding Hermione, and smelling the fresh scent of her hair and skin, when he felt her tense slightly.  
  
"What's wrong?" he asked. "Did I do something? Or not do something?"  
  
"No," she answered with a sigh. "It's just that, the closer we get to the beginning of term, the more I wonder what we're facing. You know, this summer has been sort of a "time out" but I feel we're going back into the real thing. And I hate feeling this way, Harry! You know, I'm always so excited at this time of the year, knowing I'll be back at Hogwarts, learning all sorts of things, and back with you and Ron and the others."  
  
"You think you're usually excited by now? This is the first year I haven't had a mark off calendar all summer!" He pulled her to him a little tighter and tried to say something comforting. "But Hermione, think about this... you won't have to miss your parents this year. If it were anyone else's parents I'd kind of wish they weren't going to be watching us all the time but yours aren't that way. 'Course I don't know how thrilled they'd be to see us now."  
  
"Not especially," she giggled, and slid her arms around his neck." I don't really think it's a problem though. When we came up, they were "deciding" what to take to Hogwarts, and what to leave behind. If it hasn't turned into a full fledged battle by now, it will, once they reach the books!"  
  
"So....?" Harry whispered." We are very, very forgotten and alone? The answer to a wizard's dreams!"  
  
***(Now it's up to you and your wildly hormonal-or not!- imaginations, for a bit. Just remember they are FIFTEEN, this is MY story, and by now, some of you know me pretty well!) ( I'd love to know how the blanks were filled in, or would I?)  
  
Only a few hours later, Harry was riding in the back of Colonel Fubster's car, with Ripper looking adoringly at him from the floor. He still had to smile when he thought of the way Ripper had scrambled to try to climb a tree when Crookshanks came out to chase him, but after a while they had begun to feel sorry for the dog, even Crookshanks. While Ivy and Chris were occupied with Marge Dursley and her friend, he and Hermione had amused themselves by teaching Ripper to attack a picture of Dudley. And they hadn't even used magic, except to make a picture of Dudley larger. Hermione had cut some pants out of a very large piece of material, and they had stuck on pockets and hidden some tidbits in the pockets. Ripper had now gotten the idea and would, when they showed him the picture, rip off the pockets, even when they were empty! The rest of the time, he followed Harry around and drooled on his shoes. Harry asked Hermione whether there was an anti-drool spell, and she'd found one immediately. After one "Evaporatum Salavicus !" Ripper seemed content to keep his mouth closed, and his drool to himself. Harry wasn't sure he wasn't imagining things, but Crookshanks had been in Hermione's arms when they left, with a more smug, self -satisfied look on his squashed in face than usual, almost as if he was saying to Harry, "Hermione is all mine now!"  
  
He shook his head, as if to clear it.Was he jealous of a cat? However, Crookshanks was certainly no ordinary cat.  
  
Aunt Marge, as he had expected, was not especially delighted to see him, but she also wasn't as unpleasant as she had once been. Ivy's Charm had been successful though, since, before she left the Grangers' , she'd pulled out a huge box of chocolates, handing them to Harry to share with his friend. She told them she'd bought them for Dudley, but he wasn't to be allowed such things any longer.  
  
He knew Hermione would probably throw hers away, but he thought he might enjoy strolling around the garden at his aunt and uncle's while Dudley was busy with his new exercise regimen. Marge had told them she was shocked that Petunia wasn't taking better care of her nephew's health, and was in the front seat with Colonel Fubster, discussing exercises and "running" on a track. That would be fun to see. The only running Dudley had done was to run to the refrigerator during a television advertisement.  
Soon they arrived at Four Privet Drive, and Harry groaned when he noticed the rose bushes looked a bit straggly. Would Petunia have him out pruning before the day was over? The front door also looked faded, and he imagined the garden bench did too. Were they saving all the work for his return, or, after Ivy's Charm, did they just not care? He hid a snicker,as he imagined his aunt, lying in front of the television, eating candy and watching the TV, instead of rushing about, obsessively cleaning and spying on the neighbors.  
  
Looking at the front seat, he could tell he wasn't the only one to notice some changes.  
  
"What's happened to your brother's house, Marge?" Colonel Fubster blustered. " It was perfectly tidy the last time I was here. With a teenage son to help, there's no excuse for this shabbiness."  
  
Harry could see Marge's face darken, and he thought 'Oh, no, now she'll defend her precious "neffie" and Colonel Fubster will just leave!' He needn't have worried, however, since Marge turned to him and said, "I see the one who's been doing the work around here all this time has been you, Harry. As soon as you left with the Grangers, Vernon and Petunia let everything go. We've gotten here just in time to make sure Dudley's trained to takeover. It will probably take both of you to do it though."  
Once again Harry had to hide a snicker, but couldn't help feeling happy. 'This ought to be fun,' he thought as they got out of the car.'Me, training Dudley, after all those years of him, lying around, watching me work, while he ate everything but the couch!' They went to the door, and it was opened by Petunia, who greeted Aunt Marge with the usual "air kisses" and exclamations. Then she seized Harry and gave him a hug that rivaled Mrs. Weasleys for force, but wasn't nearly so pleasant, due to the sharpness of all Petunia's bones! This was more like being squeezed by some insect with a hard shell! He couldn't help thinking longingly of the hug from Hermione, before he'd left. A lot of force there, too, but what a difference. She sure did manage to feel soft in all the right places, while still being small enough for him to ....  
  
"Harry!" Dudley shouted, shaking Harry from the thoughts that were so pleasant. " Mum said you'd be back today, but we'd nearly given up. How was the trip? Guess it was great, traveling with Hermione. D' you think she'll come over for a visit before we begin school."  
  
'Not if I have anything to say about it!' Harry thought fiercely, but then he remembered Dudley was going to be in for a pretty tough time for a while. And he was acting perfectly, well, not normal, for Dudley, but like a real person.  
  
"She might," he answered, cautiously, not wanting to commit to anything. " I've got a couple of CDs for you, Hermione and I got them in Paris." It was a good thing he had listened to Hermione, who told him this might be a good idea, whether Dudley was friendly or back to his normal self, when they met again. He noticed Dudley did look more like a baby whale than ever, and he could tell, from the look on Colonel Fubster's face that he was thinking the same, or worse.  
  
Aunt Marge was also surveying Dudley, and then she turned to Petunia. " It's time we helped Dudley, Petunia. We've all spoiled him and now look.... he can barely get through the doors!"  
  
Harry saw Dudley's face go a bright red, but he also had a look of surprise that made Harry want to laugh. Dudley was accustomed to Aunt Marge, and his mum and dad too, finding no fault with anything he did. He did feel a bit sorry for Dudley, though he'd never expected such a thing to happen, not in a million years.  
  
The group moved into the Dursley's living room and when Colonel Fubster sat down, he pulled out a folder, and opened it. "Petunia, I have a plan here for helping Dudley. Dr. Granger has added some nutritional ideas and I've worked out an exercise regimen. Marge and I hope you'll let us take on his care for a bit."  
  
At this, Dudley's face had a look Harry hadn't seen since last year, when he'd eaten one of Fred and George's Ton Tongue Toffees. Aunt Petunia, however, was nodding in agreement and Dudley was looking more horrified by the moment, as he listened to Aunt Marge's friend outline the diet and exercise that would be his new life. Harry settled back contentedly on the couch, listening. He reckoned after hearing all this, he'd be heading back to the Grangers' house (and Hermione!) very soon. Of course Uncle Vernon hadn't arrived yet, but surely if the rest of the muggles were this way, Vernon would be no problem.  
(Oh yeah?)  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, and this is being written without the permission of JK Rowling or Warner Brothers, or Scholastic, or any of those other power things. I'd like to hope JK would have a chuckle or two at what's happened before and what's coming up though. Thanks, very big thanks, go to 007 for ALL the beta reading he's done, plus the encouragement to keep me going. Please check out his new story "Power", it's simply spiffing. And come back soon to see whether Vernon needs a reinforcing Charm, and whether the "baby whale" survives.  
  



	3. Chapter Three "Some Active Revenge

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A/N : This one is dedicated to my own Mom, it seems only right, ths is Mother's Day, and to me, she can do just as much magic as Ivy, even though she may not have a wand. ( I've never been 100% sure about that though.)I can also see her welcoming Harry into the family, just like Ivy did with Harry. (she's welcomed in a lot, over the years, I don't see a Wizard being any different)

Many thanks to 007 for the beta-ing (and knowing I have to be pushed, and when to stop)and the others, Brigade 701 for the daily "well?", Chase for halting my retirement from fanfiction, and the as yet unformed villain, who is anxious to see himself appear. And all the reviewers (it really means a lot!)and IMers. Hopefully I will not have to remove a chapter this time and lose some of your reviews.  
  
Chapter Three - Some Active Revenge  
  
As they sat in the living room, with Marge and Colonel Fubster talking fast and Dudley looking more dismayed by the moment, there was the sound of a door opening. Next they heard the door slam forcefully and Uncle Vernon's voice, bellowing "Petunia!"

Harry was a bit surprised, but then thought, 'Oh well, maybe he's just hungry.' Petunia got up, and went into the hall and they could hear her murmuring, and he could catch an occasional word, such as "Marge" and "Harry" and finally "doing something with Dudley!" Each time Vernon just made a grunting sound, but eventually he and Petunia returned to the living room, and greeted his sister and Colonel Fubster fairly normally. Then he turned to Harry, and immediately Harry could see a glimmer of resentment in his uncle's eyes though he masked it quickly. "So, back from your holiday are you? Looks as if that foreign food agreed with you." 

Harry was amazed that Vernon had even noticed anything was different, but he realized he had gained some weight and grown a bit over the summer. Ivy had already done a lengthening charm on his robes, but she said he would probably need new ones, by the time school started. Well, they'd be going to Diagon Alley soon anyway.

Petunia and Vernon were now talking to Marge and the Colonel, who, Harry had discovered, was named Nigel. Uncle Vernon didn't seem especially pleased, but he was going along with their plans.

"Just as well," he said. "I've looked everyplace, and there are no Smeltings uniforms any larger than last year's Dudley. I'm afraid we'll have to resort to something drastic, if you're to return to school."

"Then let me stay here!" Dudley howled. "I know enough already. I can work at the sweet shop, year round, or work with you, Dad." Harry suppressed a laugh as he pictured Vernon and Dudley trotting off to the drill company, dressed identically, except for Dudley's increasing size. Vernon quickly squashed this idea though.

"That won't be possible, Dudley," Vernon sighed. "In fact, if things aren't soon looking up, there may not be a drill company and I may be looking for a new position as well. There'll be no new computer for you, Dudley, and I advise you to stop chucking your things out the window when you aren't pleased with them."

This was interesting, Harry thought. Maybe he'd better tell Chris about this. He didn't want the Dursleys to try to pull him out of Hogwarts, and put him to work in a muggle job. That would be just like them, to say he "owed" them for all the years after taking him in. He knew though, that if they tried it, he'd go out and buy a pile of old, ugly clothes, and a few sacks of groceries, present them to Uncle Vernon, and tell him they were even. As Ivy had remarked this summer, his aunt and uncle hadn't exactly gone overboard, providing for him.

Aunt Marge made a sudden exclamation from the couch, and said," Harry, I've left Ripper out in the garden. Be a dear and go fetch him."

Dudley, Petunia and Vernon all had odd looks on their faces at this. HARRY, be a dear? Once again, he had to suppress a laugh, as he thought of the attack dog Ripper had been that afternoon, and would be again, at a word from himself. This didn't seem to be the time though, so he went out and muttered "Calmiveritas Caininis," then brought Ripper in to Marge. Dudley was still blubbering loudly, and Petunia was trying to calm him.

"Tell you what, Dudley," he said. "I need to train for the sports season at my school. We can do this together, I'll be here a few days. " He was thankful he had taken Hermione's advice and shrunk the basket of food, and was even more thankful to have that piece of parchment allowing him to do a small amount of magic over the summer. Dudley immediately looked up with interest, then yowled, "You can already run fast, Piers and I've been chasing you for years!" The grownups in the room looked at Dudley in astonishment since he had always maintained that he'd never bothered Harry.

"Then you can learn to catch him!" Vernon growled. Then he got up and stomped from the room, leaving Petunia, and the others in a furor of exclamations. Harry decided this was probably the best time for him to make an exit. He could hear Vernon in the kitchen, probably pouring himself a large brandy, so he took the steps up to his room two at a time and was thankful to see Hedwig in her cage on his desk. Ivy had told him she would apparate over with the cage and leave the window open for Hedwig, and she had kept her promise.

Somehow, Harry didn't feel things were going well, Vernon seemed to be full of some sort of confusion over who to direct his anger toward. He now could see what Ivy meant, if he had to come back to the Dursleys because of an appearance from Voldemort, this wasn't the sort of confusion he wanted to encounter. He rummaged in his desk and found a few pieces of parchment, a quill and some ink, then wrote:

  
_Dear Hermione, Ivy and Chris,  
Things seem a bit odd here- Vernon is charging around like a mad bull, but I don't think he's sure who to be furious with. I wouldn't think he'd be too receptive to me moving back in here so maybe you could reinforce him, Ivy. I've offered to go along with Dudley for a few days and join him in the new exercise and diet, hope that wasn't a mistake. When are we leaving for the Burrow, again?  
Hoping to see all of you soon!  
Harry  
_  
He rolled up the note and called to Hedwig, who flew over immediately and stuck out her leg. Harry chuckled as he tied the it on her leg. "Can't wait to get out of here again, can you. I know the feeling. But bring an answer soon."

He tried not to feel despair as she soared out the window, but he'd forgotten how lonely it felt to be in this house, surrounded by muggles. It was even worse, now that he'd been with Hermione's family and felt a part of them. He sat down on the bed and pulled out the food basket he'd shrunk, and hid it far back under his bed, under the loose board on the floor. His thoughts were jumbled and he lay back and closed his eyes, thinking of how it would have been if his parents had lived. He and Hermione would probably have grown up together, as close as a brother and sister, since their mothers were such friends. He wondered if things would have turned out the way they were now. His feelings about Hermione were definitely not on the brotherly side. He felt his cheeks redden as he thought of holding her yesterday, and he wondered whether they could stick to their plan about going slowly. She had developed some very nice curves, and hehe would be surprised if she wasn't going to be going to Madame Malkin's for new robes too. 

He closed his eyes and soon drifted into a dream of himself and Hermione. They seemed to be standing at the edge of a river, and she grabbed his arm, stuck her foot in the water, smiled at him, then began pulling a t-shirt over her head. He was standing beside her, grinning, as a Hermione he'd never seen appeared. Her swimsuit looked like water itself, what there was of it was swirls of blue and green, on small triangles of fabric. Then she turned and said, "Ready?" and began to pull his t- shirt over his head, coming close enough so that her body was almost touching his, and he put his hands out to touch her.........

"Harreeeee!!!" Harry jerked up from the bed and shook his head. 'What timing these people have!' he thought. But he also knew the first thing he'd do when he got back to the Granger's would be to ask Hermione about what swimsuit she had. Taking a deep breath, he headed back downstairs, not knowing what he'd find.

~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning Harry awoke to a scrabbling sound at the window, and saw Hedwig, sitting on the window ledge, a large package by her side He quickly opened the window and she dropped the package on his bed, giving him a slightly reproachful look before she nipped into her cage for some water. Had she been out there long? he wondered. He'd been exhausted, since Colonel Fubster had insisted on starting Dudley's exercises, and had used Harry as a model. Dudley kept saying he didn't understand and so he'd had to show him repeatedly the complicated series of exercises. 

He'd seen Uncle Vernon sitting there with a look that seemed pleased, but it was hard to tell, since he kept ducking behind his paper. Petunia kept chattering on about how it was too hard for either of the boys, but Dudley had finally managed to get through some form of what Colonel Fubster wanted, and when Harry finally was able to get away, Marge and her friend were still standing over Dudley, telling him to go faster. 

He was thankful for the food he'd brought, since he was able to have a snack before he slept. Unfortunately the tinned food seemed to bring on unsettling dreams, and he kept seeing Peter Pettigrew, holding up his new hand triumphantly. He had hoped to be able to slide back into the dream with Hermione but no luck on that score. Now for the package....

There were three smaller wrapped packages inside along with a folded note. Harry opened the note first and read:

  
_Dear Harry,  
I am very glad you picked up on the differences in Vernon so quickly. You see now why Chris and I felt this was necessary. The items I've enclosed should take care of the problem and I've added a Replenishing charm so that your family will be kept under control. I think Vernon's business situation will also benefit from this. If he is forced to seek another position, he is much more likely to be hired with a less "forceful" personality.  
We'll be over to have drinks with the Dursleys this evening, and, if things seem satisfactory, we'll bring you back to our house, and we'll all leave for the Burrow sometime tomorrow. Now, Hermione is dying to take this paper from me._

  
Dear Harry-I hope you are being really, really careful, because I have been worried since you left. Try to stay out of Vernon's way as much as you can, in case he suddenly stops being confused before Mom's reinforcements work.  
Can't wait to see you, Harry, missing you lots!  
Love from Hermione  
__ (and her family)

  
Harry sat back with a huge grin. He remembered the summer before, when he'd awakened with that awful pain in his scar. He had thought then how much he had wished he had someone like a parent to turn to. He was really thankful Sirius had been there, but at the time, it had taken a long time to communicate with Sirius. Now, a year later, he had not only Sirius, but Ivy, who was able to take care of any situation quickly. Harry didn't know how much experience she had in the Dark Arts, but he imagined she could learn, if she chose. Hermione and her mom were a great deal alike and he thought it was going to be pretty interesting seeing Chris progress through the Kwikspell Course. Would he learn as quickly as Hermione had? Chris had a more relaxed personality, and yet he seemed to have a lot of confidence. No wonder Hermione thought she could do most anything.

Inside the package, Harry found a bottle of Uncle Vernon's favorite brandy, a package of the same rolls and cakes Ivy had sent over before, and what looked like some sort of health bars, that were each wrapped for each of them, 'he thought, and left the room quietly. Half of the rolls and a few of the health bars he left on the table, the others went into the freezer, then he carefully opened Version's liquor cabinet, and put in the brandy. Just in time too, as he immediately heard sounds of protest coming from the stairs, and judging from the creaking sound, it must be Dudley. 

A loud bang and Colonel Fubster appeared, holding Dudley by the collar. They pushed past Harry, and Dudley was sputtering, and gasped "I never get up this early!" and then, "Harry has to come too! He promised!"

"Harry can come along but it's you who'll be working! And you will be up each morning at this time from now on," the Colonel replied harshly. "There'll be no more lie-ins for you, boy!" He and Dudley went into the garden where Harry saw a sort of track had been set up, even though it wasn't a large one. 

A few moments later, Vernon and Petunia came down the stairs, and Petunia whimpered, "I can't watch my Duddy being tortured this way, Vernon, pull down the blinds!" Harry and Vernon both looked at her in amazement, as she had always insisted on keeping the blinds open in the kitchen.... everyone knew this was to enable her spying on the neighbors.

"I forgot to let you know, but Dr. Granger sent over some more of those rolls and cakes that she sent before," he told them hastily, before the mood could deteriorate further. "There's some things for Dudley as well. And more in the freezer for all of you."

"Thank heavens!" Petunia said with a sigh. "I just don't have the energy to do anything around here today." She and Vernon pulled out chairs and after pouring themselves tea, began eating Ivy's food.

"If you don't mind, I'll just get myself some fruit from the fridge" said Harry, in case they wondered why he wasn't digging in too. He wasn't sure how they'd respond to things this time, but very soon, both of them seemed to perk up and they went out the door, presumably to check on Dudley.

He stood at the door watching as Vernon suddenly began to gallop around the track, with Dudley half heartedly following him. Petunia was telling Colonel Fubster something and Harry saw him studying the label on one of the bars Ivy had sent, then calling Dudley over. True to form as far as food was concerned, Dudley grabbed the treat, and stuffed it in his mouth, then drank something from a bottle on the ground. A moment later, he also was galloping around the track and soon Colonel Fubster had added some small hurdles for them to jump over.

Behind him, he heard Marge enter the kitchen and she immediately came to the door and joined him. "I knew Nigel could help them, just a matter of discipline. Speaking of which, I've made a list of things that need to be done around here," she said, waving a piece of paper.

'Oh, no, here it comes!' he thought, and quickly pointed out the fresh pot of tea and Ivy's cakes and rolls to her. She held tight to the list but did make herself a cup of tea, and began munching a cake, scattering crumbs across her wide tweed bosom. " As soon as she could speak, Marge turned to him and said," It will be interesting to see Vernon and Dudley doing all the chores you've taken care of for them over the years. Of course I'll be helping. Now you had better pack up, Harry. Dr. Granger said they would be picking you up this evening, time to head back to school. Energetic people, those Grangers. Teaching as well as practicing dentistry, and here Vernon is, having trouble holding down one position." 

Shaking her head, taking another cake and her mug of tea, Marge went out the back door, followed by Ripper, who had once again been giving Harry that adoring gaze.

He sighed happily, and went back up the stairs to send Hedwig off with another letter, a happy one this time! Hermione would sure be relieved things had been taken care of so quickly. After sending Hedwig off he peered out the window, and began laughing until his sides and face ached. There below him was something better than a circus ...... Vernon and Dudley were moving faster, and enjoying it less and less, if he could judge by the looks on their faces. Vernon was pushing the lawn mower rapidly while Marge was watching, and yelling "Faster, so much to do!" as she painted the garden bench. Dudley was pruning rose bushes, with Colonel Fubster standing by him, holding a stop watch. Dudley was scratched and sweating, and Harry remembered the day of his twelfth birthday, when HE had done all this while Dudley ate ice cream and laughed.

The crowning sight was Petunia, standing at the back of the garden, surrounded by a crowd of the neighbors she had spent so much time spying on. He couldn't tell what was going on but there was a great deal of laughing and pointing. 

He sighed happily as he began sorting through his clothes, pulling out a few things that weren't five times too big for him. He decided to leave the socks and underwear, since he had replaced all of it in Paris anyway. He grinned as he thought about Petunia's face, if she could see some of the boxers he'd bought there. But he was a teenager now, he wasn't going to keep wearing some little boy's underwear she had thought suitable. He might not be Draco Malfoy, but he'd found an occasional pair of silk boxers wasn't so bad. He remembered the dressing gown Sirius had sent him, so his old one stayed in the closet as well.  
Now, with any luck, he could take a nap, and dream about Hermione this time, instead of Wormtail's silver hand. It was going to be interesting, arriving downstairs fresh from a nap and a shower, when the Dursleys came in hot and tired. Then with any luck, he could finally leave Privet Drive for the summer, without having to make some kind of dramatic near escape.

  
_Disclaimer_: I don't own any of this, except the way Chris and Ivy are. It was fun to give the Dursleys a bit of what they deserved, but now onto the Burrow for some domestic magic. We'll see how Harry and Hermione enjoy visiting the Weasleys together. Will Danielle and Adrian appear? How about Sirius?  
  
  
  



	4. Chapter Four - Nothing is Perfect

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Author's Note: I have finally finished this chapter! School is over, and hopefully I will write more and move this along more quickly. Harry and Hermione are happily enjoying a visit to that most loved place in the wizard's world, the Burrow, but as you will see, all is not perfect, as the proverbial "fly in the ointment" has also arrived.  
  
Mostly thanks go to 007, who has kept me from forsaking the world of HP by giving me wonderful things to beta read, encouraging me to keep writing, even if it was tiny bits, and for providing the gate to the inspiration of AngieJ's "Trouble in Paradise". I never got around to it before, but friends and fate move mysteriously. I am probably the last person in the HP world to read it!  
  
Now, read and have fun!!!  
  
Chapter 4 - Nothing Is Perfect  
  
  
  
Chris turned to Harry as he slammed the back door of the Range Rover. "I'm hoping that's all, I can't imagine what either of them could have possibly left behind!"  
  
Harry had to agree, even with the Engorgement Charm Ivy had put on the car, it was looking as if it felt like groaning. He knew Ivy and Chris were going to have their own house at Hogwarts and apparently, Hermione had decided to take advantage of this and bring a lot of things she ordinarily left at home. As she had predicted, there had been a battle over which books to bring and which ones to leave behind, even though Chris had reminded them Molly could send along whatever they were missing, once she and Arthur left the Burrow, and were staying in London. As he and Chris stood there, gazing concernedly at the Range Rover, Ivy and Hermione came down the front stairs and burst into laughter.  
  
"I don't think we'll make it far, looking like that," Ivy said, when she could talk again." We'd be stopped by the police before we'd gone far, if we didn't fall over first." She looked around carefully then pulled out her wand and muttered, "Compactus Invertis" and the car once again shrunk to normal size, and seemed to look stable. "I promise, when we pack up to do this again, we'll do separate Shrinking Spells on everything. It just seemed like a lot of trouble, when I could take care of it all with one."  
  
"No problem, " answered Chris, giving her a hug. "Now that we've begun living this way, I wish you hadn't waited so long to take up magic again. And I should be able to do some spells by the time we come back, I should hope."  
  
Hermione grinned at Harry , and rolled her eyes, but he knew she was glad her parents were so happy together. He was too. It made life a lot smoother, instead of having to listen to Petunia and Vernon's constant bickering. He opened the door and Hermione slid in Crookshanks, in his basket. then she slid in after him, followed by Harry. He noticed that, like the Weasley's car a few years before, this seat had become as wide as a park bench. Apparently, Hermione's parents wanted to be sure they weren't sitting too close together! It hadn't done much good though, because Hermione still was sitting close to him, and it wasn't long before she had drifted off to sleep with her head on his chest.  
  
"Errr, Hermione has fallen asleep," he told her parents in as loud a voice as he dared, without waking her up. " I think she might be falling over if I don't hold her up, you know."  
  
"Go ahead, Harry, just don't let her fall on Crookshanks. Now everyone get ready, I've put an Invisibility Charm on the car, and we're going to give it a try in a moment." Ivy looked excited, but Harry couldn't help thinking of the last time he'd been in the Weasleys' car and the Charm had been faulty. He noticed Chris looked a bit concerned as well, and apparently Ivy noticed. "Oh come on, you two, it'll get us there much more quickly, once we're invisible, we can let the car fly."  
  
"We could just buy a small plane," Chris answered weakly, but then he smiled,"Okay, let's try it. May as well, there'll be a lot to get used to from now on, I reckon."  
  
"Yeah," said Harry enthusiastically. "The Weasleys have got a ghoul in the attic and a bunch of little gnomes running around in the garden. It's a fun house to visit, and you never know what's going to come to life next." He soon found himself drifting and then it seemed only minutes until Chris was shaking his and Hermione's shoulders.  
  
"All right, time to wake up, we'll be there in a minute or two." Ivy said over her shoulder. He looked around and sure enough, there they were at the village nearest the Weasleys' house, Ottery St. Catchpole. Harry remembered driving through the village in those cabs on the way to take the train to school last year, and the cab drivers had been really angry, with Fred and George's fireworks and their assorted trunks and animals.  
  
Hermione was rubbing her eyes and looking confused. "What happened, how did we get here that fast?"  
  
"Your mother did a bit of magic," Chris told her. "Why don't we just leave it at that. Considering what you told us about Harry and Ron's trip to school that second year..."  
  
"We flew here? How do we know we weren't seen. Oh no, we're going to be in so much trouble!" Hermione wailed, but her mother cleared her throat slightly,and replied," We weren't seen, Hermione, we were invisible!"  
  
Harry had to laugh at the expression on Hermione's face. In some ways, he guessed Hermione was still having some trouble remembering she was no longer the only one who could do magic in the family. He wondered how he'd feel if his aunt or uncle had suddenly begun doing spells. No, that was too ridiculous to even think of.  
  
They pulled up the lane to the Weasley's house and Harry felt himself begin to smile. This always felt like home to him, and he always remembered the first time he had arrived, when he was twelve, and Mrs. Weasley had come charging out of the house, furious with Ron and the twins.  
  
The front door of the house opened and out poured enough red hair to look as if the house was spitting fire. Mrs. Weasley was yelling at the top of her voice for her children to stay back until the car stopped, but it was no use. The car came to a stop because it HAD to, Fred, George and Charlie had jumped up on the front and rode in with them the last 200 yards, before Ivy stopped.  
  
"All right," she said, laughing as she climbed down from the driver's seat. "You want us to stop this far from the house, you can carry things in."  
  
  
"No problem," Bill called from the porch. He pulled out his wand,and shouted "Accio, luggage!" At this the back flipped open and a steady stream of suitcases, trunks and boxes began drifting through the door and open windows. "I'll pile them all in the dining room!" he called, and disappeared.  
  
"So much for our careful packing," Chris said wryly to Harry.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Several hours later, they were all seated outdoors, watching Crookshanks chase gnomes across the garden. Most of the downstairs furniture had been floated outdoors, and Mr. Weasley was proudly showing Chris and Ivy his collection of plugs. Chris had a diagram of their house in London, and he had been advising Molly and Arthur on the best way to deal with anything that might come up around the house." Quite clever, the way you've managed to get by without magic all these years," Arthur said, but Molly was shaking her head.  
  
"All of those little things you use with plugs might have been all well and good when you weren't using your wand, Ivy," she said. "I hope you won't mind if I pack them up, and use my wand and the spells I'm accustomed to? "  
  
" Did you tell Ivy about the story?" Ginny asked.  
  
"No, I was waiting until I heard from them again," Molly answered. " But now as you've brought it up.....Witch Weekly is hoping to do a story on Domestic Charms and Spells for Large Families and....."  
  
"They came to the right place," Ron finished.  
  
"No, Moron Boy," Ginny snapped. " We are wondering if Ivy and Chris will let us use their house. I'll come up and take the pictures, we thought maybe Hermione could come up with me."  
  
"And I could borrow your Firebolt, Mom?" Hermione asked, and immediately there was dead silence. Harry, who had been playing chess with Ron nearby, was sure he hadn't heard correctly. Hermione rarely even got on one of the school's slower brooms, and now she was talking about riding a Firebolt?  
  
"Harry could teach me how to ride while we're here, maybe?" She looked at him appealingly, and he nodded, wondering what she was going to surprise him with next.  
  
Ron, however, was snickering, as he muttered, " I gotta see this, Hermione on a Firebolt! I can hear it now, "Ooh Harry, does it have to go so fast? Does it have to make those sharp turns?" No, you oughta just use our old Shooting Star." he chortled, and Harry tried to prepare himself for fireworks, but Hermione only looked mildly irritated..  
  
"Shut up, Ron, before I turn you into a bowtruckle," she replied, adding scornfully, " No one's asking you for flying lessons!"  
  
At this Fred and George began to laugh from where they had been playing Gobstones, but stopped as they could hear a fluttering sound. "Mail's here!" they shouted in unison, and sure enough, the next moment several owls flew in, dropping mail among the group.  
  
" I have to leave tomorrow," Charlie groaned. " A new group of Opal Eyes in Australia, we've got to calm them down."  
  
" Lee is coming for a few days, and bringing his friend, that American wizard," said George, and Fred, seeing the look on his mother's face, added, " You SAID he could, Mum, when we were in Paris. Must've been the wine, eh?"  
  
Harry didn't feel nearly as pleased about this as the twins, and as soon as he could, he motioned for Ron and Hermione to walk up to the paddock with him. Ron was looking pleased about something, and Harry saw him drop a folded paper casually into Ginny's lap. As the three friends began to walk, they saw Ginny scurry into the house."Adrian, " Ron said simply.  
  
"And you heard from him, as well?" asked Hermione, her eyes twinkling. " Nice to have mail from your sister's crush, I suppose."  
  
Ron's freckles disappeared in a sea of crimson, and he replied, " Not that it's any of your business, Nosy, but it was from Danielle. She was wondering what day we'll be in Diagon Alley. I, uh, told her I'd give her some help, finding stuff."  
  
"I wonder why she didn't ask me," Hermione said, trying her best to look puzzled. "We've known each other longer."  
  
"MAYBE she thought you'd be too busy, stuck to Famous Harry Potter" snorted Ron.  
  
"Give it a rest, you two, something strange is going on here," Harry said impatiently. "Ron, has Lee ever come here and brought a friend?"  
  
"We-ell, no. Actually Lee hasn't been here in a few years. The last time he came, he brought along a Knarl. Mum had forgotten their habits, and you know how she's always pushing food on everyone. That darn thing destroyed our entire garden, after she offered it a plate of Brussels sprouts and pork chops we had left over." Ron grimaced, remembering that time. "Mum made us dig and redo the entire garden, while Lee left to take the creature home. Personally, I think Mum had too much wine too."  
  
"Harry thinks there's something odd about that American wizard, Ron. Is the feeling stronger, Harry?" Hermione asked, looking concernedly at him. "Maybe it's time we said something to Mom, or you wrote to Sirius?"  
  
"They've got enough to do, your parents have to settle in at Hogwarts, and Sirius is on the edge of being cleared, I'm not going to tell him anything that might bring him back before things are settled." He looked at the two of them, and asked, "Can you trust me on this one? There's something odd about him, my scar wasn't hurting but it felt cold. That makes no sense I know, but I'm glad the guy is coming here. It'll give us a chance to keep an eye on him. If anything happens, I say we tell your parents, Ron. I know they have been communicating with Dumbledore,and I think this guy wants to get into a house belonging to a ministry wizard. He may even be in with Fudge, and not be who he says he is."  
  
"Could be, I didn't really pay much attention while he was there in Paris, but then I'm not able to tune in through my scar. Now I'm going down to check about our trip to Diagon Alley, then I need to do some writing." Ron looked eager to move along, and Harry and Hermione laughed.  
  
"Oh, got an essay to finish for Professor Binns?" Harry asked. "We'll be along in a while."  
  
"Don't wait up, " said Hermione, as she slid her arms around Harry. "We'll be brushing up on our Astronomy."  
  
"Yeah right!" replied Ron, and even in the dark they could see him smirk. "I think the subject is Anatomy."  
  
"He's right, you know, I meant to talk to you about a dream I had last night," Harry told Hermione as he sat down and pulled her into his lap.  
  
~~~~~~~~~  
  
The next morning most of them were up early to see Charlie, Chris and Ivy off, and Arthur had to return to work at the Ministry. It took some time, reloading the Range Rover, since, as promised, Ivy did variations of Shrinking Spells on each box, bag or suitcase.  
  
"Some of these can go straight into storage," Ivy told them. "Now don't get me confused." She picked up her wand, and yelped as it turned into a ferret. " Oh, no, Fred and George have been here!" She reached behind her again and this time, found her own wand and muttered some words Harry couldn't understand. The ferret disappeared up the stairs and very shortly, they could hear shouts from Fred and George who were still sleeping when Harry, and the others came down.  
  
"I guess the ferret was well trained to do some ferreting," Ivy said, innocently, and in a moment the twins appeared downstairs, rubbing various body parts. "Sleep well, boys?" she asked, and in spite of themselves Fred and George grinned at her.  
  
"Just wanted to have a bit of fun," George said.  
  
"Never had anyone staying here who was working at Hogwarts. We thought you might have some kind of instructions for getting 'round Filch," added Fred.  
  
After all of the good-byes, and Molly tearfully reminding Charlie to wear his longest dragonhide gloves, and Arthur not to stay late at work, things settled down a bit. They took Harry's Firebolt and the other , slower brooms up the hill to the paddock, and in a surprisingly short time, Hermione had become accustomed to the faster movements. Harry was teaching her how to make some of the dives and swooping movements he used in quidditch and Fred and George showed her how they went for the bludgers.  
  
In a short time, they heard voices coming up the hill, and saw Lee and Damien. Harry noticed the American still wore all black and silver, a fact that for some reason he found annoying. Didn't the guy know he was visiting in an ordinary country wizard's home. Fred, George, Ron and Lee were dressed as he was, in faded jeans and t-shirts, but Ginny had on a short denim skirt and a peach colored top, and Hermione was dressed in short black shorts with a white band at the waist, and a black, yellow and white tank top. Somehow she managed to look athletic but very feminine, and he knew he hadn't imagined the admiring look Damien gave her. 'Another reason not to like him!' he thought, though he tried to tell himself not to act like a jealous prat, when Hermione had barely spoken to Damien.  
  
As the morning wore on, he had to admit, he respected the new student's talent on a broom, and he wasn't the only one. Both Fred and George told him he should try out for quidditch, and George mentioned Hufflepuff's need for a new seeker for the coming year. Somehow after this, enthusiasm seemed to wear thin, and not too long afterwards they began to straggle down the hill. Harry heard Lee telling Damien that they all tried to steer away from mention of the Triwizard Tournament around Harry, and George muttering that he had really messed up that time. He gritted his teeth and wished that for once in his life, people wouldn't have a reason to treat him differently.  
  
Back at the Burrow, when they all trooped in, Molly shooed them upstairs to change, since they were covered in grass and dirt from some of the less graceful landings. Hermoione's knees were almost completely green, since the first few times she came down to the ground, she hadn't gotten the hang of a landing of any kind. Harry smiled to himself, remembering that she had asked him whether the broom could go slower, just as Ron had predicted, but by the time they were all tired, she had surprised them all with the speed she had achieved, and a few tricky dives that Harry had expected not to se her attempt for days. He heard Damien compliment her as they went upstairs, and when she said "Harry's been teaching me, and he's as good a teacher as seeker." the boy had replied that he could teach her some things they used in America that he said "might not have crossed the Atlantic yet." Fortunately Ron heard this first and he snorted, and answered for Hermione.  
  
" Don't think there's much you can show Harry," he said. "He's been seeker since his first year, youngest seeker in a hundred years. Besides, quidditch originated right here in England. You may have some different names for things, but I'll bet you a bag of Bertie Bott's Beans what you have isn't that much different."  
  
'So we all know where we stand now," Harry thought, also realizing it was probably the first time Hermione had allowed Ron to reply to something directed to her, without a huge argument ensuing. She had an odd look on her face, but she didn't seem inclined to jump into the conversation.  
  
"C'mon, Herm," he said, pulling her down the hall."I think you may need some help getting those knees skin colored again. We may have to use a Scouring Spell." He looked once over his shoulder, to see Ron and Damien giving each other long, level looks, then simultaneously turning and walking away without a word.  
  
"Should be an interesting year at Hogwarts," he said, getting to his knees in front of Hermione, and beginning to roughly scrub her knees. "Ron and Damien have already looked as if they'd like to hex each other. Then you add in Adrian and Draco, hopefully playing against each other. Yeah, we oughta have a lot of excitement before long."  
  
" But...... we have O.W.L.S. this year!" Hermione wailed. " You and Ron had better think about making study schedules, instead of who's fighting who. And by the way, you don't have to take my skin off and those are Mrs. Weasley's newest guest towels. Good thing she has such a soft spot for you, anyone else would probably wind up doing all the laundry, the Muggle way, before we go back to school."  
  
Harry stood sheepishly, holding the once white and lace trimmed, now green and brown towel in his hand, and realized he'd better listen to Hermione. He sure didn't want to wind up with only a few O.W.L.S. Besides the idea of how disappointed Hermione would be, he was sure this was just the type thing Rita Skeeter would love to find out about. Hermione had now washed her hands and face, and turned to kiss him before going out the door to head for Ginny's room. "Wear your blue shirt, and kahkis?" she asked, looking at him in that way she had, of making him feel like a hero. "You look so great in them."  
  
Harry nodded, and hugged her, then grinned as he began to wash up. "You're hopeless!" he said to his reflection in the mirror. "She's got ya right where she wants you."  
  
"There are worse places to be, dearie!" the mirror replied, and he had to nod in agreement.  
  
  
Disclaimer: Obviously none of the characters here belong to me, or the places, and certainly not the world I'm writing about, since this story would be tremendously, unbelievably better if the divine JKR had anything to do with it. Damien belongs to himself, and be warned, he informs me he plans to rule the world and has no connection with moldy Voldie!  
  
One more chapter at the Weasley's, and we'll depart for Platform Nine and Three Quarters! Couple of "events" next time, so come back!   



	5. Chapter Five - A Small Slice of Fun

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A/N: This is not a very long chapter, but it seems to need to be away from the rest of the chapters. It seemed unfair not to let the gang have fun, since I'm having so much.

I had no beta reader this time, due to vacations, so be kind, please. 

  
CHAPTER FIVE - A Small Slice of Fun

Several days had passed since Chris and Ivy had left the Burrow, and things had settled into a sort of routine. Harry still didn't feel Damien was a person who'd ever be a close friend, but he had tried to keep those feelings to himself. As Hermione had mentioned, they didn't need to start the year with bad feelings, when the teachers surely planned, more than ever, to work them into shadows of themselves.

Besides, they had been having too much fun, and those warning feelings had sort of faded....maybe he had just been acting like a younger version of Mad Eye Moody, with all that constant vigilance stuff. Not that he wasn't watching, but this was a last chance for some fun before summer ended.

Today promised to be especially fun, since they planned to go to the river not far from the Weasleys and swim and picnic. Mr. Weasley planned to take the day off from the Ministry, and for once, Mrs. Weasley had been persuaded to leave her kitchen behind. She had been in a flurry of sailing pots, rolling pins and other kitchen items the day before but the picnic baskets were packed, and Harry thought he recognized some of the camping equipment they had taken to the World Cup the year before. He wondered whether Mr. Weasley would have the same trouble with matches.

Harry and Ron came down the back stairs early that morning, to hear Percy's voice, and he sounded even more lofty and demanding than ever. As they came into the kitchen, he was saying, in a voice that sounded as if he were speaking to a small, not very bright child, "The Clearwaters are out of the country now, in Africa for some meeting. I told them we would manage to have everything ready."

"You told them _what?" _shrieked Mrs. Weasley, sinking down in a kitchen chair and looking pale. "Percy, we've never had a wedding here! And Penny won't care to have a thrown together wedding!"

"I've told you Mother, the Ministry has positions for a married couple in Italy, and the job won't wait. It could put us years further in our careers, if we're able to go."

"We can manage a small celebration, Percy, but today is your mother's day out of the house, I'm not working and we're spending the day with your brothers and sister, before they go back to school. " Harry had rarely seen Mr. Weasley look so determined, but perhaps they were all thinking of storing good memories for the possible dark days ahead.

"You go ahead and owl Penny to come here," Mr. Weasley continued. "We can talk about this more while we're at the river."

Percy looked as if he was about to protest, but thought better of it. He disapparated, and Ron snickered. "Still has to show off, apparating upstairs, he's been doing it for a year! " He turned to his parents and said, " You'd better ask Percy who he expects to pay for this. He probably plans the most expensive everything, to go with their new, important positions. And the bride is supposed to pay."

"They'll have to be satisfied with what we can do," Molly said firmly. "Now, let's get everyone up, so we can start our day."

"Has she finally wised up about him?" Ron asked, as they went back upstairs to wake the others.

**********

By noon, they were all wet and exhausted, but Harry thought he had rarely had that much fun inhis life. Fred and George had tied ropes into the trees that hung over the river, and Mr. Weasley had enchanted the ropes to swing in fast spirals to drop them far out into the water. He and Hermione had gone on the ropes together, and they had screamed until they were hoarse, but he had enjoyed holding her as they soared through the air, and plunged into the deep water. Hermione's hair had curled into tiny ringlets with the water and he thought he had never seen her look so cute, as she shook the water from her eyes and hair. Her swimsuit was not exactly as he pictured in the dream, but he thought it might be even better. It was a dark blue, with tiny flowers of all shades of turquoise and blue, and was cut high on her legs, making them look even longer than he'd thought possible. He saw she had a tiny silver and turquoise dot at her belly button, and the top was cut straight across with tiny straps on her shoulders. When he had seen her from the back, for a moment it looked as if the suit had no top, since all that showed from the back were thin straps across her back that were almost invisble. He hadn't been sure which way to run at first, but when she turned around, he was amazed that she looked covered enough even to suit Mrs. Weasley. He guessed his imagination was getting too strong for his (and her) good. But how had Hermione, their best friend turned into this pretty witch with curves in all the right places? He was glad Danielle was meeting them in Diagon Alley in a few days, because he could see Ron was thinking the same thing about Hermione, though he was attempting to hide it.

Over on the banks of the river, Harry could see Mr. Weasley with Damien beside him. They were working on starting a fire, but Damien seemed to be showing Mr. Weasley something that he hadn't seen before, since he seemed to be shaking his head in astonishment.

"Let's go over and see what Mr.Weasley is so surprised by," he told Hermione as they climbed out of the water for the tenth time. She looked disappointed, but he hugged her, and added, "Not for long, we can go right back." Then he lowered his voice and whispered, "I'm not finished holding you in the air and kissing under water is,um, interesting."

Hermione brightened up immediately, and said, "You go ahead, I'm going to put on some shorts."

He nodded and went on, feeling glad, but kind of like a jerk for feeling that way, since Hermione was going to look more covered when they were with Damien.

"So, what're you two doing?" he asked, squatting beside them. He saw several of the sticks had a charred look, but he saw no fire.

"Damien has been showing me a spell he learned in America," Mr. Weasley answered excitedly. "He can make that eckeltricity muggles use, without any plugs."

Damien, Harry noticed, didn't look especially pleased that he'd shown an interest, though he saw what he couldn't help thinking of as the other boy's "mask" slide over his face. "Oh, it's not so much," he said. "And it doesn't always work, but I've attempted it a few times."

"Interesting that it happened to work well when you showed it to Mr. Weasley," Hermione said, standing behind him, and leaning over to examine the charred sticks. "I'm rather good at fires, myself, but I'd never considered electricity. I'm part muggle you know, grew up thinking I was completely muggle born, but it turns out my mom is a witch as well."

'Why was Hermione being so friendly', Harry wondered, and was not reassured with Damien's reply.

"I know," the American wizard said, casually. "I've heard of your mom. If you like I can show you how to do this...sometime."

"You've heard of MY mom?" Hermione asked, Harry was sure he hadn't imagined the trace of discomfort in her voice. "That seems impossible. She only re- entered the magical world this summer. And.."

As she was about to continue, Harry leaned back and not so gently pinched Hermione's leg. Fortunately, being the smartest witch in her year, she caught on quickly, and instead said. "Maybe, sometime, sure."

"I live in New York City, news travels faster there than anyplace in the world. We don't even use the Wizard's Wireless, it's completely WizNet there." Damien replied, looking smug. Harry wanted to say, "So what?", but seeing the look of excitement on Mr. Weasley's face, he thought, perhaps he, Ron and Hermione should find out more about the WizNet. And break up this little session.

"I think Mrs. Weasley might need us," Harry said, standing up and taking Hermione's hand. "She's starting to unpack, let's go help her, Hermione."

"Heavens, I've left her over there alone with Percy and Penny!" Mr. Weasley said with a guilty look. "Thanks, Harry.Yes, let's help her."

As the three of them walked over to the picnic and Mrs. Weasley, Penny and Percy, Harry saw Damien disappear into the woods. He didn't know what bothered him more, that the guy seemed to be sneaking off or that he seemed to think he was above helping. Fortunately, his mind was soon distracted by Hermione telling Mrs. Weasley that she and Harry would go up to the spring they had passed on the way, and get some fresh water. Ah, alone with her at last! As nice as it had been, visiting Ron's family, there hadn't been much time alone for them

***********

Disclaimer: All characters except Damien, and Danielle who was only mentioned, belong to JK Rowling. I've been told that Damien seems like not too bad a guy but I assure you, he is not, I repeat, NOT a nice guy. You'll see.

Coming up: Percy & Penny tie the knot!(?), and there's the trip to Diagon Alley. Draco may get to see Adrian ( with Ginny, OMG, a WEASLEY!!) before term begins, and Ron and Danielle are....reunited.


	6. Chapter Six-Hermione and Ivy's Surprise

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Author's Note: Last night at midnight there were only two paragraphs of Chapter Six, and I had been whining to everyone "I'll never write again, I'm sick of fluff." Apologies to those who were subjected to that and as always,thanks for your wisdom and patience. And to Ebony for her wonderful TIP Eleven. What a spirit lifter!!

It's a bit frustrating to write about a younger group, after reading the wonderful works of others who have the luxury of dealing with adult or near adult versions of the trio and their friends. However, I'll still attempt to show how they became those people. The worlds created by Lori, Cassie, Ebony, Penny and Carole continue to be my inspiration, even though I am not true to future events as they have written them. My continuing to post on FF.N should in no way be contrued as a lack of support for their actions.

HHEE Six - Ivy and Hermione's Surprise

  
Harry woke to the sound of high pitched voices, and scraping sounds. He looked across at Ron, and saw that he was also awake and looked just as startled and apprehensive.

"Well, the "big day" is here, and sounds like it's going to be worse than any of us expected," Ron said with a groan, sitting up and stretching.

" Yeah," replied Harry. "Makes you kinda never want to get married, doesn't it? But guess we might as well go on down and help. I have to admit, I kind of don't want to miss anything, even if we do have to follow Percy's "orders". Your mom and dad have been so.... cool about the whole wedding. I mean your mom's yelled a lot, but she isn't treating Percy like Mr. Perfect anymore, is she?"

"True, " said Ron with a wide smirk. "The whole mess has almost been worth it, seeing my family tell Percy how it's going to be. But as for getting married, it'll be different for us Harry. We won't be marrying some stuck up witch with nothing but work and her career on her mind. Even Hermione's changed. I'm not saying she'll marry either of us, but think about it... compared to Penny, Hermione is the Number One Party Girl of the magical world."

"And you don't know half of it," Harry said, before he thought, then felt his face redden. "Err, I mean, she's .... been interested in something besides books recently."

"Never mind, I've got an imagination," answered On, as he headed for the door. "You might want to watch that talking in your sleep when we get back to school though. You might shock Neville, and have Seamus and Dean setting up a recorder." Harry chuckled as Ron hurried out the door, ducking to avoid the pillow Harry had thrown hard after him.

Once they reached the kitchen, dining room and living room, it was either better, or worse than they had expected. Percy was bellowing about the flowers not looking the way he'd expected, and there were so many things cooking in the kitchen, Pots and pans were pushing each other around the stove, as if they were elbowing each other for space. A huge cake sat in the corner, decorated with candy fairies and bright yellow sunflowers.

" We couldn't _get_ sunflowers, Percy," Mr. Weasley was saying, wearily, and sounding as if he was repeating himself. " The daisies will have to do, you know we told you not to expect perfection."

At this moment, the door burst open and Hermione, Penny and Molly flowed out. Ginny followed by a few paces, rubbing her eyes and looking sleepy and confused.

"Oh, Percy, I've had an owl from Mom and you and Penny can have your sunflowers- and a lot more, if you don't mind a few other changes. How would you like to be married_ in _Italy, surrounded by sunflowers?"

Now Harry felt like rubbing _his _eyes! What was Hermione talking about? She noticed his bewildered look and came to stand beside him before she continued."Look, I'm really sorry I didn't mention this before, but I had no idea it would work out so it seemed silly to bring it up.But you know my parents always go abroad for holidays? Well, we had visited a place in Italy called Le Mandorelle.It is between Tuscany and Umbria, not far from Rome and Florence and nearby there are miles of sunflower fields. There's a beautiful spot that's open with a view of sunflowers, vineyards and right beside the pool. It could be a beautiful wedding spot."

" It sounds wonderful, Hermione," Mrs. Weasley said. "But it would be more than we could manage "

Harry felt, for the first time ,a bit angry with Hermione and Ivy. They knew the Weasleys couldn't afford that type wedding! And now Percy would be angry with anything his family tried to do.

"Oh, no, that's the best part. You see, Mom really contacted the place to try and have some sunflowers sent here, as a gift. When she called Le Mandorelle, she found that it had changed owners, a couple from the United States bought the place. But they wanted to take a trip back home, they are from a place called Hilton Head. So they were going to shut down the inn, but they were worried about leaving the place, and all the food their garden produces. So... you know how persuasive Mom can be. It wasn't long before the owners thought it was their idea that she bring over a group, just to sort of look after the place. We can all go over for the wedding, then Penny and Percy can have the place alone for their wedding trip. You can easily do lots of sightseeing from there."

Everyone began talking excitedly then, and in the confusion of the moment, Harry pulled Hermione back into the house and kissed her very thoroughly. How could he have doubted her. When they stopped at last, both were smiling hugely.

"You were getting angry, Harry, I could see that. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. It all happened so fast, and, well, you haven't had that many good surprises."

"I should have trusted you. You ought to be angry with _me._ When , since we were eleven, have you done anything I couldn't trust." He was almost afraid to look at her as he said this. Maybe she would realize he was right and _get_ angry. But Hermione only laughed.

"I'll save it for later," she said. "And think of a way you can make it up to me. Now, I think we'd better listen to Mr. Weasley. He's finished reading Mom's letter."

They stepped out the door, and Mrs. Weasley was roaring for them all to be quiet. When they finally were, comparatively at least, Mr. Weasley began to speak.

"All right, we need to get organized here. Ivy and Dumbledore have arranged portkeys to get everyone to Italy, and are setting up wards to hide the place from muggles while we're there. Penny and Percy, if you're happy with this , you need to owl Penny's family, and any of your friends so that the portkeys can be set up for them. And can someone tell me what golf is? Chris says there's a superior course in Perugla. He wants to take me and anyone else who'd like to try it."

Harry and Hermione laughed. It was hard to imagine Mr. Weasley playing golf, but they knew, as Chris did, how fascinated he was with anything having to do with muggles. Hermione gave a brief description, at which Fred and George declared they had some ideas for livening up _that _game. Mrs. Weasley had one more announcement before they went their separate ways though.

"We'll be going right to Diagon Alley, from Italy, so everyone _pack your letters._

They all scattered then to the various tasks, and Harry saw Fred and George talking to Lee and Damien. He walked over and found that the visitors were preparing to leave. He couldn't help feeling glad, at least to see Damien leave. It would be different if Lee had come by himself. He saw that Ron and Ginny had surrounded Hermione and he had a pretty good idea that they were asking if Ivy could get Danielle and Adrian to Italy too. He sighed happily. Once again life was spinning in greased grooves in the world he was happy to be part of. Even if this year did bring darker times, this had been a summer to make up for the miserable ones of the past.

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters or their personalities,other than Daemon, who belongs to himself. El Mandrill belongs to Rob and Janina Cushman, and they really are from SC. If you'd like to view/tour Penny and Percy's wedding spot, you can visit the Cushman's web site at http//www.lemandorelle.com- you can tour the place, see the garden spot and the kitchen that Molly will soon be using. You can even choose rooms for yourself or the characters.

I borrowed the phrase "Once again, life was spinning in greased grooves" from the movie Cannery Row, which was based on John Steinbeck's _Cannery Row _and _Sweet Thursday. _For anyone who knows me personally, when I say this, life has truly entered the regions of the sublime.

I'm not sure where Chapter Seven will take us. I may write a small wedding chapter, or we may go straight to Hogwarts. Or to Diagon Alley. Anyone with opinions, please feel free to share them.

  
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	7. Chapter Seven - "Wedding Reflections"

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A/N: Okay,this is sort of an extra. I had planned to include a bit of wedding reflection in Chapter 7, but it became 

  
Chapter Seven - "Wedding Reflections from the Burrow"

_  
"''Twas the night AFTER the wedding, and all through the house, not a Weasley was stirring, not even the ghoul in the attic._

The Weasley family, minus Charlie, Bill and the newly wed Percy, but including Harry and Hermione, had arrived back at the Burrow after sundown, happy but extremely tired. They all agreed that it didn't seem possible they had been picnicking by the river two days before! Since the plans were to meet Danielle and Adrian along with Danielle's family, in Diagon Alley the next day, no one had argued when Mrs. Weasley shooed them all up to bed. They heard Mr. and Mrs. Weasley come up soon after, and soon things were fairly quiet at the Burrow, except for the occasional small explosion from the twins' room and a muffled giggle from Ginny's room, where she and Hermione were, no doubt, reviewing the events of the day.

Harry was still amazed everything had gone so smoothly.

By the time they arrived by portkey, Ivy and Molly had been there for awhile. The food had been transported, and added to, and Ivy had brought in loads of the huge sunflowers Penny and Percy had their hearts set on. The day of the wedding, some of those sunflowers had been magicked into the trees surrounding the pool and garden area where the wedding would take place.

Fred and George had amused themselves at Percy's expense in various ways, one being to have the flowers droop from the trees when Percy came near, and begin chanting "Pompous Percy, Former head boy- Bighead boy, do you take this similarly pompous witch to live in excruciating boredom with, until you both shall perish from it?" But since this only happened when Percy was alone, he'd had little success convincing his parents, Penny, Chris or Ivy the flowers were really talking. Harry, Ron, Fred and George had hidden in the various shrubs to watch Percy shaking his fist at the sunflowers he'd wanted so badly.

"Percy really got mad didn't he?" Harry whispered to Ron, who was lying in bed looking at a picture that had been taken of himself and Danielle. Ron had a big grin on his face, and Harry could see Danielle waving merrily to him, and occasionally blowing a kiss.

"Yeah," Ron replied, distractedly, but then remembering, he laughed aloud. " Fred and George really outdid themselves, didn't they? Percy was expecting the food to be trick food, but they didn't touch that. Probably knew Mum would turn them into horklumps or something. He was pretty surprised they didn't do something _during the_ wedding."

Harry replied, "Your folks were too. I saw your mom giving them these nervous looks, as if she expected the whole place to turn into a huge fireworks show. And Percy spent more time watching the twins than he did looking at Penny. She got pretty irritated, you could tell."

" Not nearly as much as she did when those two veelas showed up to entertain, and Percy acted as if he didn't know he was at his own wedding!" Ron snorted, then turned pink as he remembered how he'd felt when he had been turned down by Fleur when he asked her to go to the Yule Ball. " Hey, Harry, d' you suppose there'll be another Yule Ball this year?"

" Probably not," Harry answered. "Considering the luck we usually have, since we've got people to invite this year, it'll turn out to be the regular Christmas feast and that'll be it. Besides, I'm hoping Sirius will be cleared by Christmas holidays, and we'll be in a house someplace. Or maybe with Hermione and her family."

"Maybe Danielle will invite me home with her this Christmas," Ron replied, in the distracted voice he'd used earlier.

Harry snorted, but said "Maybe so." as he turned on his side and tried to go to sleep, wishing Mrs. Weasley hadn't shooed them off to their bedrooms before he'd had a private moment with Hermione, and a goodnight kiss. She sure had looked pretty at the wedding..........

~ ~ ~ ~

Downstairs in Ginny's room, there had been a lot more muffled giggling. Adrian had kissed Ginny, her first real kiss, and she and Hermione were analyzing all aspects of the kiss, and discussing how everyone had looked and behaved. Hermione had worn a short salmon pink dress, covered by a shorter, almost transparent robe that was more like a cape. She had known she 'd made the right choice when she saw Harry's face light up when he saw her. He had commented that she looked like a really pretty flower from some magical garden, and had added regretfully that he'd sure miss seeing her legs, once they got back to school. She had promised to wear skirts under her robes more this year, and to fasten the clasp loosely.

"Do you think Adrian liked my dress and robe?" Ginny asked, though Hermione knew she was well aware that Adrian had been impressed. Ginny had worn a dress made of soft golds and browns, in a silky material, and her robe, like Hermione's had been short and so transparent as to almost seem not there. Her hair had darkened a bit over the summer, and was more bronze than bright red. Adrian's had not been the only eyes to notice Ginny that summer, but she didn't know that yet.

Hermione was idly flipping through a muggle magazine, when she gave a quickly stifled laugh and tossed the magazine into the trash can.

"What was that?" Ginny asked.

"Oh,the silliest thing!" Hermione giggled. "Some muggles seem to be making a movie about wizards and witches. They even look as if they tried to make it look like a school. The school didn't look so bad, but the actors and the way they dressed were a hoot. As if any of us would go around in white shirts and ties, and robes that look like black bathrobes! It's getting harder and harder to remember I spent eleven whole years entirely in the muggle world. Harry and Ron would get a laugh from that though. And can you imagine Fred and George wearing starched shirts and ties?"

They both laughed at this, and turned back to a sleepier discussion of the wedding, and what they would do tomorrow in Diagon Alley.

~ ~ ~

Further down the hall, Fred and George were going over plans for the next day in Diagon Alley, as well as discussing the Italian girls they'd met when they had sneaked down to the village the night before the wedding. It had been a busy couple of days, as far as spending time with far more experienced females, and George was grumbling a bit about having to go back to Hogwarts and girls their own age. Fred however was openly looking forward to seeing Angelina, and told George he'd better wake up and appreciate the girls they knew.

"Sure those Italian girls were fun, but do you suppose they can play quidditch? And I'll bet they'd run away screaming if they knew some of the pranks we've played. Nah, call me crazy, but I'll take Angelina anytime. Besides being pretty and a good sport, she flies better than any witch I've seen, possibly excepting Ivy. And she's always up for a prank."

George had to agree and said he'd show more appreciation of Katie in future. The twins turned to a sleepy discussion of the veela they had gotten to come to the wedding reception, with some help from Bill and Fleur. Before he had been dragged away, Percy had tried his best to convince the veela girls that Cornelius Fudge had assured him that he was sure to be the next Minister of Magic and that five professional quidditch teams had been trying to recruit him!

And in the last bedroom on the hall, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were wearily happy that the first of their children was happily married to the witch of his choice. Though they had never spoken the feeling aloud, each continued to hope Percy's ambition would not lead him to go against what they had tried to teach all their children. Unfortunately, neither felt as certain this would be the case as they would have wished.

Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me. Except Danielle and Adrian. Everything belongs to J.K.Rowling, who I idolize but sure wish she would be able to finish book Five faster and make those movie people be true to what she's written.The magazine in the trash can is for WB, along with Hermione's comments.

Now back to.completing your regularly scheduled Chapter Seven.


	8. Chapter 8- Friends and Foes in Diagon Al...

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A/N: There's not much to say on this, except that if you're a big Draco fan from reading Draco Sinister or another fic, just keep in mind that this is more canon Draco, and there is time for a change. If you aren't a Draco fan, you'll enjoy the end of this chapter.

  
Chapter Eight - Friends and Foes in Diagon Alley

  
It had been a summer he'd never forget, but it was over, Harry thought, as he sat at a table outside Florian Fortesque's. Ginny, Hermione and Mrs. Weasley were in Madame Malkin's where Ginny was being fitted for her first set of entirely new robes. Since the new and old robes looked alike to him, Harry couldn't really imagine this being such an event, yet he knew Ginny was excited, and Ron was feeling very happy too. Not only had they been able to afford more new things this year, but Percy was safely married and out of the Burrow. He had a feeling Ron was going to enjoy holidays at home a lot more. He had quickly gotten the new robes he needed, perhaps due to his first summer of not being starved most of the time ( "Filling out nicely aren't you, dear? Shooting up a bit as well!" Madame Malkin had commented, as she fitted HIS new robes) then he'd left the feminine part of the group to go sit in the sun and enjoy a soda.

The twins and Ron had gone down to the joke shop, to see whether they could repeat their success in Paris by selling a few of their inventions. The owners had known Fred and George since they were really young, he knew, and might still think of them as kids but they now had records of the sales from the French store to make sure they were taken seriously. Serious was a funny word to use in a sentence about the twins, but it was great to see how proud Arthur and Molly were of the way Fred, George and Ron had worked together on the joke business.It made quite a change from the previous year, when Mrs. Weasley had screeched and emptied their pockets of the Ton Tongue Toffees. It would have been fun to have given Percy one, right before he and Penny were to say their wedding vows, but they'd all agreed, it might have pushed Molly's temper a bit too far.

Harry looked up from these thoughts to see Ron and his dad walking briskly toward him, obviously deep in conversation. When they sat down, Ron exclaimed, "Good news, Harry, Professor Lupin is going to be at Hogwarts again! Dad just got the official word from Dumbledore.!"

Mr. Weasley nodded and continued, "He's had his affliction controlled and the period of time documented, so that he can now be considered safe. Severus Snape should have no trouble with the potion,but Ivy was also able to learn to prepare it. She and Chris stayed behind in Italy to visit the people Remus has been living with."

" Oh that's great!" Harry said with a laugh. " We knew they were staying, but Hermione thought they just wanted a few days without kids around. It'll be great to have Remus back, won't it. He was really the only Defense teacher who's taught us the real thing. He might have to take us back through last year's stuff to see how much we learned that was right or wrong-or worse than wrong!"

They continued to discuss the prospect of having Lupin return, and how Draco and his group would accept this. Harry and Ron told Mr. Weasley they felt Draco was going to be a real barometer about how strong Voldemort had become and how much closer he had gotten to being back to power.

"Unless he's changed an awful lot, Malfoy's going to be feeling cocky if You Know Who has been around" Ron said, adding ,"Plus there's the little matter of the Monkey Tarts, and the hex marks we left on him at the end of the year."

Harry snickered. "When we saw him in that book store earlier in the summer, Hermione and I could still see traces of the hex marks, although they just looked like he had bumpy blotches to any muggle who happened to look." It had been a long time ago, it seemed, that day he and Hermione had gone shopping in the muggle world, and he'd had his first muggle clothes that actually fit. He had given Hermione his mother's emerald bracelet that night too. She had worn it to Percy's wedding and it had seemed to cast a glow around he entire arm.

" Harry, you still have the pendant from Monsieur Maas' shop?" Mr. Weasley asked suddenly, and wordlessly, Harry pulled the pendant from his shirt, holding it up for them to see. "Good, I'm glad you're taking the protection it's supposed to give you seriously. There's no point in, er, taking unnecessary chances."

Harry had opened his mouth to ask whether there had been any news regarding the clearing of Sirius' name. when the Gred and Forge, the girls and Mrs. Weasley appeared, causing a complete change in conversation, as they discussed where to go next and the fact that the twins had been able to make a deal with the joke shop owner. Harry promised himself he'd try to find out something specific before they left for Hogwarts.

There were books and parchment and quills to buy. Hermione had been interested in buying some of the new double-ended quills, which made Ron snort and say he imagined she thought she could do homework in two subjects at the same time now. Harry grinned as Hermione retorted that Ron might consider doing homework in ONE subject, without making jokes and trying to skive off. It looked as if his new relationship with Hermione wasn't going to affect the constant jabs Hermione and Ron had been giving each other for years. Then he noticed Ginny was frequently looking at her watch and looking nervous.

"What's wrong, Gin," he asked. "You aren't nervous about seeing Adrian are you? I know he's just as anxious to see you."

"No, that's not the reason I'm nervous. I'm afraid he might have gotten tangled up with Draco's family. If he did, Danielle and her family are too, and there's no telling when we'll get to see them."

" Oh, Ginny, don't worry too much," Hermione said comfortingly. " Marielle and Gregg know quite a bit about the British branch of the family, remember, they've known Adrian's family for years, they're neighbors and they trusted Gregg and Marielle to bring their son to England and see him off for Hogwarts. Gregg will know how to handle Lucious Malfoy."

Ginny and Ron looked relieved at Hermione's words, and Harry remembered Danielle's dad as being the sort of person who could step into any situation and somehow see that it was settled to the satisfaction of all concerned. Mr. Weasley overheard Hermione from where he was walking with Mrs. Weasley and the twins, and turned to speak to them.

"You're right there, Hermione. And it could be good practice for what's coming next. Gregg is also here to represent the French Ministry of Magic, to speak in support of Monsieur Maas, when he testifies that Peter Pettigrew was in his shop last year, selling dark artifacts."

Now Harry was getting a bit angry. Why did this have to start, just as term began? He really didn't want to miss anything! But Hermione had laid her hand on his arm, having realized he wasn't happy with the idea that things would be progressing without him being able to hear what was being said.

"Harry, I know you want to be there to hear what's being said, but they will owl us regularly, and you know Dumbledore will be involved. They're sure to call us to testify when the time is right. Mr. Weasley will be right there and Danielle's dad knows your connection to Sirius, and how much the outcome of things will affect us all, but especially you."

"Ye....ah,I guess so. Ah, okay Hermione, you're most likely right. You know I'm really impatient to see what'll happen, it's hard to wait even longer, when we've waited so long already. But Sirius would tell me the same thing. Anyway Ginny, here comes the French group, so you can stop worrying."

When Adrian, Danielle and her parents had joined them, it was decided that they'd separate to different shops, and Gregg and Arthur, having business to discuss, would meet them later at the Leaky Cauldron, where they'd all be staying overnight, before leaving on the Hogwarts Express in the morning

Molly wanted to buy a cauldron to use while she and Mr. Weasley stayed at the Granger's house ( Harry heard her say in a low voice to Marielle, "Poor Ivy, all of these plug in things and not a decent cauldron in the kitchen. She's probably not had time to choose one, since she took up her wand again!")

"I want to go to the Magical Creatures shop," Danielle told them. "No, not that I want to, I need to. I have no animal to bring to Hogwarts as yet. Mama and Papa wished me to bring one of our owls, but I have finally persuaded them to allow me to choose my own animal."

" Okay," Ron said. "This I have to be involved in. You won't buy something that jumps on my head will you, Dani?"

She assured him she wouldn't and Harry and Hermione exchanged a look as they remembered the day she'd bought Crookshanks. Ginny and Adrian left them to visit Quality Quidditch, since Adrian had forgotten a few of his broom accessories, and wanted to be 100% ready when quidditch try- outs were announced. When Hermione, Harry, Danielle and Ron entered the Magical Menagerie, they found the usual array of rats, cats, owls, along with a few reptiles and new shipments of mokes and salamanders. The thing that interested Danielle, however, was a prominent letter that was emblazoned with the Hogwarts crest and read:

At this time, and on an experimental basis, we are allowing students to bring crups to school. Owls, cats, rats and toads will still be the preferred animals, and any student bringing a crup MUST be prepared to take the test showing the level of control they have over their crup immediately upon arrival at Hogwarts. Naturally, the forked tails will have to be removed by the severing charm, prior to arrival at Hogwarts.

~ Professor McGonagall ~ 

~ Deputy Headmistress ~

"Ah, this is my lucky day!" Danielle cried, as she hugged Ron excitedly. " Max and I had two crups, actually they belonged to Mama and Papa before we were born. They were quite old when they died last year, but since Max and I were away at school, Mama and Papa decided not to buy more. They are so funny and are such loyal pets!"

"That's great," Hermione said, but Harry could see she looked a little doubtful. "Do you think one could get along with Crookshanks though? I was hoping we could share a dormitory room this year."

" I will find a young one and train it to be a friend to Crookshanks, I am quite good with training animals. And of course, Hermione, I wish to have a dormitory room with you as well," Danielle looked very determined now, and Harry began to see she and Hermione were more alike than he had imagined. He also wished he could announce that he too wished to share a room with Hermione. He guessed that would have to wait though!

It took about half an hour for Danielle to find the crup she wanted. Harry and Hermione wandered around the store from time to time, as Ron and Danielle sat on the floor, surrounded by the crups, who were thrilled to have all that attention. Finally, Ron called them back and Danielle held up the one she had chosen. Harry had to admit, it was very appealing looking, and certainly made a better first impression than Crookshanks had. As Hermione held the wiggling little puppy, it began to chew on her sleeve, but Danielle touched its head lightly and said, "Non!" in a kind but firm voice. The puppy looked at them strangely for a second then yawned and snuggled up to Hermione.

"This is the one!" Hermione, Harry and Ron said together. "The three of us agree on something!" Ron added. "Dani, you don't know this but you may have witnessed a first!" They all laughed and Danielle went to pay for her crup, and to watch the severing charm performed on its forked tail. Hermione went along to pay for the packet of dried spiders she'd gotten as a treat for Crookshanks. As Harry and Ron waited at the door, Ron sighed happily.

"Isn't she wonderful? I was sure she'd come in here and find some identical match to Crookshanks, but look what she found instead. "Course, it won't be without problems. They are scavengers, but Danielle seems to be a good trainer."

Harry snickered, and commented, " She's managed to tame you pretty quickly, hasn't she. But really Ron, Danielle seems to be a great person, and it sort of feels she's always been with us. And if her dad is able to help clear Sirius, I'll owe her and her family a lot!"

Having completed their transactions, the four friends went down the street to Flourish and Blotts, where they found their books for the coming year, and Danielle found a book that told all about crupsand the particulars of their training. "I have a book almost like this, I should owl home and have it sent back by our house elf, but I hate to waste the time. Oh, look, there is Adrian, but where is Ginny?"

The other three looked at where Danielle was pointing, and sighed. " That's not Adrian, Danielle," Harry murmured. " But you may as well get used to seeing him. That's the OTHER Malfoy, Draco. Maybe he won't see us...."

Unfortunately, this turned out to be a vain hope. Draco did see them, and came sauntering over, wearing his usual sneer. "So the threesome has become a foursome? You must be my cousin Adrian's friend. What's a pure blooded witch, whose family has high French Ministry connections doing with this lot. Potty, the Weasel and ..... her! They aren't exactly the best people at Hogwarts. Weasley here couldn't even afford to take you to Hogsmeade for a butterbeer!" Then he looked Danielle up and down, while Ron, Harry and Hermione stood there, about to explode, and said in a smoothly madddening voice," You're a good looking witch. Why don't you ditch these losers and come with me?"

Just as the other three pulled out their wands, they saw Danielle draw back and with a tightly clenched fist, she made contact with Malfoy's perfectly straight nose, and he went down onto the tiled floor of Flourish and Blotts. blood spurting onto his obviously brand new robes. As an employee from the store hurried over, she turned and said apologetically,__as she also pulled out _her _wand. " Oh, sorry for the mess, we'll get rid of him right away!"

On the floor, Draco drew back, as if fearing she would curse him but instead she muttered, "Cleansivaus" at the floor and his robes, and " Temporus Injutarus" to Draco's face.

"Don't bother going and whining to your dear Mama and Papa," she said cooly to the bewildered Draco who was now attempting to rise to his feet. " The outward signs of what I did will be gone in a moment. Only the pain will remain." Moving her foot quickly,Danielle tripped Draco and he went down on his knees again. " You'll stay there until we're gone. And don't think of revenge. Your cousin may be a valued friend of mine, but I will do much worse than this to you if you cross me."

Danielle then took Ron's arm, as he along with Harry and Hermione stared open mouthed at her. She bent and ripped a piece off the collar of Draco's robe and pointed to the basket she carried. "Just to warn you, I have purchased a crup, and he will be trained to recognize your scent. They are small but viciously loyal to their owners. Again, beware Mr. Malfoy "

Once outside the shop, Harry, Hermione and Ron were all talking at once, congratulating Danielle on taking care of Draco so swiftly, and asking her to teach them how to deliver that particular punch.

" You somehow don't look or act like a fighter, Dani," Ron said in wonder. " How'd you learn how to respond that fast? We were all going to get him, but you already had him on the floor."

Danieele shrugged and answered,"It was nothing. Just an automatic thing. One learns quickly to take care of oneself. Max was always all too ready to fight my battles for me, but I found I preferred to do it myself. And I will not listen to such things about my new friends, especially not from that, how do you say? Slime?

They all roared with laughter, as they headed down the street to meet the rest of the group for dinner at the Leaky Cauldron. Tomorrow would be there soon, and with it, the Hogwarts Express.

  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry, Hermione, Ron, the Weasleys or anything having to do with Diagon Alley or the Leaky Cauldron. Thanks on top of thanks to JK Rowling who obligingly added the masterpiece _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them _to the already loved four books. Look for more beasts and lots more about Danielle's crup in future chapters. Danielle, Adrian and Marielle are mine, as are the characterization of Hermione's parents, though they too belong to JKR. Gregg belongs to himself, and not being a HP fan, has sort of wandered in here

Thanks to the wonderful people who reviewed and kept me going. I hope Calvin Potterson writes more soon, as Finding Potter seems to make me want to write, to the Potternews group for helping keep the books fresh and new in my mind, in particular Lily and Paul, who share the fun of endless IMs disecting issues. Thanks as always to Chase, for having fresh news on the HP world all the time, and for being a great friend, through all kinds of craziness. Also to Ani and Liz who hear a lot more than they want to from me, but it's great that we're here for each other. And to 007, as you can tell, this didn't get beta'd. But I DID listen when you said "KEEP WRITING!" 


	9. Malfoys Meet on the Express

untitled

A/N: After the longest summer in history, Harry and the gang are off to Hogwarts. A couple of things though:

A reviewer mentioned that if I continue to develop Danielle, she may become a Mary Sue. This isn't my intent. If this girl is going to have a relationship with Ron and hang out with the threesome, she's got to have some respectable fire in her. Actually, Danielle has done no more here than Hermione did in PoA, fighting back at Malfoy and choosing a pet. She just did it faster than Hermione did 'cause, well, I'm more of a feminist. After fighting with Hermione for four years, do you REALLY think Ron would be happy with some nice little girl, who lives in his shadow? Would Harry put up with her having any part in anything serious? I think not.

Adrian is not meant to be a male Mary Sue, either. He's there for several reasons, but Harry is my man, now and forever.

  
  
Chapter Nine - " Malfoys Meet on the Hogwarts Express!"

  
The morning arrived and with it, a horrible rain. Harry remembered the rain that had soaked them last year when they arrived back at school, but usually the departure from King's Cross had been in nice weather, instead of this torrent. It wasn't going to be fun, getting all of their trunks loaded, not to mention the assorted animals.

  
He grinned when he remembered the looks on everyone's faces as the new animals had appeared. Fred and George had returned to the Leaky Cauldron with an owl, saying they really needed one, with the business they had in Paris and in Diagon Alley. Ginny had returned with a cat, well, something between a cat and kitten. At least this one hadn't jumped on anyone's head yet, and appeared to be more of a teenager than the full grown cat Crookshanks had been when Hermione purchased her. Still, it was a good thing none of them were returning with a rat.

  
Adrian had brought, surprisingly, a toad, but one unlike any they had seen before since instead of green it was a solid, deep red He had looked a bit embarrassed when he brought it out, but told them it was part of a family of Tomato Toads the French Malfoys had kept for years. They had all assured him it was fine, privately hoping this one would stay put better than Neville's Trevor.

  
Harry had always enjoyed staying at the Leaky Cauldron, but he hadn't spent such an enjoyable evening there before. Tom had provided the usual eight course meal and itwas easy to see Mrs. Weasley was enjoying a break from cooking, though she did give Tom a few suggestions on the gravy and dessert.

After dinner He and Hermione, Ron and Danielle and Adrian and Ginny had gone upstairs exploring and found some rooms that were open. It really showed how much Hermione had changed when she had summoned her CD player and CDs from the room she was sharing with Ginny, and Adrian put a sound sealing charm on the room.

  
"I know I can't use them when we get back to Hogwarts, so we may as well enjoy them now." she said sheepishly, looking at Ron as if she expected him to make a sarcastic comment about her bringing something so un - schoolwork related back to Hogwarts. He didn't though. In fact, he said, hopefully, "Maybe we can take them out to the lake sometime, like after supper, before it begins to get cold."

  
They'd had a really nice time upstairs, talking about the music and even dancing, before each couple had inevitably drifted off to a dark corner. He and Hermione had more than made up for being shooed off to their separate rooms by Mrs. Weasley the night before. She had felt so wonderful in his arms, and they had spent enough time kissing so that he felt either of them could have given a class in the finer points. He remembered their agreement to go slowly, but things had definitely heated up, and he wondered which of them would bring up redefining "slowly" first.

  
It was probably a good thing Fred and George had discovered them, and filled the room with some new fireworks that were not only no heat, but no sound. It hadn't felt like it though, and even though the girls had been all admiration for the bursts of color that changed from reds to oranges, all through the spectrum of colors, Hermione had whispered "Damn! I thought we were really going to be left alone this time!" They had been teased about their reluctance to come out of their dark corner, until Hermione had threatened, with a giggle, to hex them all, and everyone trooped downstairs, laughing.

If the truth were told, the fact that Hermione had learned to laugh at herself was probably the best change possible. It sure made life more fun!

  
When they arrived downstairs for breakfast, Mr. Weasley and Danielle's dad were discussing how to get to King's Cross most efficiently. Arthur had apparated to the Ministry of Magic already and returned with a car and driver from the Ministry. Gregg and Marielle had rented a car, and it was decided that all of the girls would ride with them, and since the ministry car was easily expandable, the boys and the excess luggage would go with Molly and Arthur.

  
Privately, Harry felt it was Mrs. Weasley's determination to have a last lecture time with all of them about staying out of mischief and danger, that made the traveling decisions! Even though Ron, Gred and Forge groaned, Harry thought he'd miss her lecture, since no one before had bothered to tell him to be careful. (In fact, the Dursleys would be more likely to urge him to go into the Forbidden Forest, if they had known of its existence!) He realized he'd never met Adrian's parents so Mrs. Weasley's farewell talk might seem a bit strong.

  
The trip to King's Cross went smoothly, so smoothly, Harry was beginning to worry. Things just didn't go smoothly for this group! Something was bound to go wrong, at any moment! As they unloaded, and Mr. Weasley and Gregg ran back and forth with huge black umbrellas, the hulking forms of Crabbe and Goyle, on either side of Draco Malfoy could be seen going through the barrier to Platform Nine and Three Quarters. It was amazing that even from the back, Crabbe and Goyle managed to look stupid and threatening.

  
Danielle and Adrian knew all about the Hogwarts Express, and the barrier to Platform Nine and Three Quarters, but they had nervous looks as they approached it. Harry, remembering his first time, whispered, "Just go up and sort of lean into it, but be ready to stand up quickly, as you go through! There goes George, watch him!" George, having now done this for most of his life, including the years he'd gone with Percy, Bill and Charlie before he'd actually boarded the train himself, was certainly an expert. He walked up casually, looking around as if awaiting the arrival of a friend, looking appreciatively at some of the girls walking by, then leaned against the wall and disappeared!

  
" Looks easy enough," Adrian exclaimed. "Come with me, Danielle." The others watched as the two new students walked casually up, Danielle pretended to be pointing to something and they stepped through. Everyone else walked through quickly and easily enough, but there was a hitch when it was time for the train to leave, and Danielle's dad suddenly decided it was time to deliver a few more warnings about wearing warm clothes, staying dry in the colder, damp English climate, and was Danielle sure she didn't want him to ask permission for their house elf to accompany her.

  
Danielle's face was quite pink with embarrassment, and Hermione and Ginny were unsuccessfully smothering their giggles, before Marielle had persuaded Gregg to let Ron and Harry close the windows to their compartment. She settled back on the cushions, looking as if she'd like to disappear into them, but since everyone quickly became busy, playing Exploding Snap, and guessing about Gryffindor's chances for the quidditch cup this year. Harry saw Hermione and Ginny telling her how bad it had been for them, their first year trip, and realized he'd never much thought about that. Ginny had been the last of the Weasleys to go off to school, and Hermione's parents, as far as she knew at the time, had no idea what sort of world their daughter was entering

"When I think of it now, they deserve some sort of acting award," Hermione said. "At the time though, all I wanted to do was disappear, or have something come down and swoop them away. How mom must have laughed, once I got away. I sure didn't laugh though. Ron and Harry made no secret of the fact that they hated me on first sight."

  
"Well, my folks didn't laugh!" put in Ginny. "They didn't get a chance to, since they came out of the station to find a missing car. Then dad's having an inquiry at work, about the car flying and Mum's sending a howler. Oh yes, it was marvelous, being the younger sister of that boy who not only flew a car into the Whomping Willow, but brought on our Mum's screeching all over the Great Hall at breakfast." she grinned at Ron and Harry who were pinker than Danielle by then.

  
"Er, sorry, Gin, I guess we didn't exactly make your first year easy. But I really did hate missing your Sorting! And Hermione, you've got to admit, you weren't exactly a fun person to be around then. And you sneered at my spell!" Ron looked sheepishly at the girls, and added, "But never mind, Harry and I have completely matured now. Besides, remember it was Dobby's fault we had to do that!"

  
Ginny pretended to fall to the floor in a faint, saying dramatically, "They- have- matured!" and after Adrian helped her to the seat again, they began to play a game. Ron was telling Danielle about the teachers, and Hermione seemed to have reverted to her old self. She had gone into a corner of the compartment and was immersed in her Standard Book of Spells, Grade 5. Harry sat down close to her, and yawned. "Don't suppose you have time for me now? All that new stuff to learn....."

  
"Sure, just let me finish this.... oh sorry, Harry, you look tired, come put your head in my lap, I won't read too long."

  
'Not if I have anything to say about it,' he thought, as he rested his head on her legs, and after a moment let one arm drop and began rubbing her leg. She moved her book to look questioningly at him, but didn't tell him to stop, and soon he felt her fingers caressing his neck and ear, and she bent over to kiss him lightly, then a little more deeply, then they both jumped as something soft hit them!

  
"What the....?" Harry said, looking around, and saw Ron had thrown one of his robes at them and was grinning. Then he noticed everyone else had left the compartment.

  
"What happened to the others?" Hermione asked, attempting to tidy her hair. "We aren't there yet, I know."

  
"I could tell you they got embarrassed and left, but... the cart lady's out there, if you two can come up for air long enough. Danielle's going crazy, buying everything. She said they don't have the sweets we have here, and she's never even heard of chocolate frogs. Why didn't you ever send her any of this stuff, Hermione?"

  
Before Hermione could answer, they heard a scuffle in the hall and a crash. When they dashed out, it was hard to know how to react. Adrian was glaring at Draco, who was standing there with his fists clenched, and Crabbe and Goyle were on their hands and knees, grabbing sweets from the overturned cart. Danielle and Ginny were also glaring at Draco, while trying to help the plump witch who brought around the cart to her feet. Hermione raised her wand and shouted "Accio, food!" and all of the things Crabbe and Goyle were grabbing flew to her, and landed neatly in a box she had grabbed from the cart.

  
Harry also raised his wand with a quick "Stupefy!" and Draco's goons lay there, arms and legs in the air. " What's going on here?" he asked. "Had to send your little friends to get sweets for you, Malfoy? What's wrong, Mummy and Daddy forget to send you with your usual thousand galleons?"

  
"How's he gonna buy his friends then?" Ron asked innocently, as if asking whether they'd be arriving at Hogwarts soon, or whether the rain had stopped.

  
There were snickers from the group, but Draco seemed to have recovered his composure, and drawled. "Ah, so that's why you wound up with this pathetic excuse for a group of friends? Dad couldn't send you off with more than two knuts?"  
He then turned to Adrian, and with his usual delightful sneer, remarked,"You're a disgrace to the name Malfoy, and everyone will know it even sooner since you're taken up with that red headed beggar Weasley girl! I should have expected this, we haven't mixed with your parents in years. Father said he knew your father shouldn't have married that-"

  
There was another crash, this time from Adrian's fist sending Draco through a door, and landing him on top of a pile of cages of angry owls. He rose to his feet in an amazingly short time, but not before he'd been clawed by several owls, and feathers were scattered through his hair.

  
"I'll....." he said menacingly to Adrian, but Harry interrupted.

  
"You'll what Malfoy? Maybe you oughta learn how to walk before you start wandering around on a moving train. All I saw was you falling through the door, and onto that pile of poor, unsuspecting owls. " He looked around the group, and everyone nodded, except Crabbe and Goyle, who seemed to be planning to lie there the rest of the trip to Hogwarts.

  
"I'll be contacting your fathers, when this trip is over," the witch with the cart said firmly to Draco, Crabbe and Goyle. "This cart's going to need repair, and some of the food has been ruined. Everything was going along peacefully, these children were just buying their sweets until you three came along!"

  
After glaring forcefully, and a few mutters of "You wait." the Slytherins disappeared back down the corridor, leaving the witch to thank Harry and the rest for their help.  
"You must be quite a champion at the Summoning Charm, to be able to take food from those piggy boys!' she told Hermione, and insisted she take several extra packs of chocolate frogs. Hermione thanked her and passed them on to Danielle. The remainder of the trip passed fairly quickly, as they discussed what Draco and his goons might decide to do next.

  
" I just hope that hat doesn't put me in the house he's in, just because I'm a Malfoy. Draco will eventually manage to injure me, one way or another, or get me expelled." Adrian looked a little worried, now that the moment of confrontation had passed. Then he brightened up. " I have always been taught that it was their branch of Malfoys that disgraced the name. I see no reason to change that opinion now."

  
Ginny patted his arm and told him he would surely be in Gryffindor, and they heard the train begin to slow. Looking out, they saw the castle coming into view and finally, they were back at Hogwarts!

  
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. Danielle, Adrian, Marielle and Gregg are mine.


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